Hall church facts for kids

Great Yarmouth Minster

A hall church is a special type of church building. Imagine a church where the main part (called the nave) and the side sections (called aisles) are all about the same height. This is different from many other churches where the middle part is much taller.

In places like England, Flanders, and the Netherlands, these churches often have several parallel roofs, one for each section. But in Germany, you might see one huge roof covering the whole building. The idea of calling these buildings "hall churches" came from a German art historian named Wilhelm Lübke in the mid-1800s.

Unlike a basilica, which gets light from high windows above the main nave (called the clerestory), a hall church gets its light from the windows in its side walls. These windows usually go almost all the way up to the ceiling, lighting up the whole inside evenly.

What is a Hall Church?

A hall church is a church building where the central part (the nave) and the side parts (the aisles) are nearly the same height. This design creates a large, open space inside.

How Hall Churches are Different

The main difference between a hall church and a basilica is how they are built and how light enters.

• Hall Church: All parts are roughly the same height. Light comes from tall windows in the side walls.
• Basilica: The central nave is much taller than the side aisles. It has extra windows high up in the nave walls (a clerestory) to let in light from above.

History of Hall Churches

The first churches with equal-height naves and aisles were actually underground rooms called crypts. The very first hall church north of the Alps was St Bartholomew's Chapel in Paderborn, Germany, built around 1017.

Early Hall Churches

In western France, you can find some Romanesque hall churches. These older churches often have rounded, tunnel-like ceilings called barrel vaults. Poitiers Cathedral in France is thought to be the first Gothic hall church. It likely inspired many Gothic hall churches built later in Westphalia, Germany.

Most hall churches with aisles became popular during the late Gothic period. This was especially true in areas like Westphalia and upper Saxony in Germany.

Hall Churches Across Europe

• Germany: Many famous hall churches are found here, often with stone ceilings and one large roof.
• Netherlands and Flanders: Most hall churches here have wooden barrel vaults and separate roofs over each section, rather than one big roof.
• England: England has over a thousand hall churches with wooden ceilings. Many of these are in Devon, where they make up most of the church buildings. Even though they are hall churches, official descriptions in England often don't use that exact term.
• Wales: In some parts of Wales, churches with two equal sections are a traditional style.
• Scotland: Some hall churches here are Neoclassical buildings. Others are Gothic Revival churches, which means they were built in the 18th or 19th century to look like medieval Gothic churches.

Some English hall churches, like Temple Church in London, have stone vaulted ceilings.

Modern Hall Churches

The hall church style was also used in some Gothic Revival churches. These churches were built to look like older Gothic buildings. An example is St. Francis de Sales Church in Saint Louis, Missouri, completed in 1908.

In the 20th century, the term "hall church" sometimes meant a multi-purpose building. These buildings had movable seats instead of fixed pews. The altar area could be closed off, allowing the building to be used as a community center during the week. This idea became popular in Britain, especially in inner-city areas, starting in the 1960s.

Types of Hall Churches

Here are some ways to understand different hall church designs and how they compare to basilicas:

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  A typical hall church. It might have one long roof or several roofs.

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  A stepped hall church. The middle section's ceiling is a little higher, but it doesn't have an extra floor.

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  A pseudo-basilica. The middle section goes up an extra floor, but it doesn't have windows up there.

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  A basilica. The middle section is much taller with two extra floors, including a clerestory with windows.

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  A hall church with arches but no stone ceilings. It has a ceiling that is partly flat and partly sloped.

Hall Church Floor Plans

Hall churches can have different layouts:

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  St.-Maria-zur Wiese, Soest [de], using a "Westphalian square" design.

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  St. Martin's Church, Lauingen [de], with three equal sections.

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  St. Elizabeth's Church, Marburg, shaped like a cross.

• .

  Franciscan Church, Berchtesgaden [de], with two equal sections.

Images for kids

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  St-Hilaire in Melle, with Romanesque barrel vaults.

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  The ceiling of St Lambert's Church, Münster.

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  Frauenkirche, Munich, a hall church with three naves and side extensions.

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  Inside St. Wolfgang's Church, Schneeberg.

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  The Church of the Jacobins, Toulouse, a hall church with two naves.

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  Church of the Holy Cross (Cádiz), the southernmost hall church in mainland Europe.

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  Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon, built in the Manueline style.

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  St Mary's in Usedom, with wooden arches and ceiling.

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  Temple Church, London.

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  St Nicholas, Monnickendam, Netherlands.

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  Inside St Nicholas, Monnickendam, North Holland, showing the aisles from the 16th century.

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  St Andrew's, East Allington, Devon.

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  The east end of St Andrew's, East Allington, with aisles from the 14th and 16th centuries.

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  The chapel at Fort George, Highland Council Area, built in 1716.

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  The chapel at Fort George, with flat ceilings at almost equal levels.

See also

In Spanish: Iglesia de salón para niños

• Church hall

More Information

You can find lists of almost all hall churches in Europe on the French Wikipedia and German Wikipedia.