In this 1952 work, historian David Knowles explores British monastic sites from a unique aerial vantage point. Featuring over 100 striking aerial photographs of monasteries, abbeys, and friaries, Knowles offers insights into these grand religious communities lost to time. The images capture the full scale of these monastic sites, from dramatic ruins to remarkably preserved complexes. Knowles provides informed commentary on the architectural styles and layouts of each monastery, analyzing how design evolved across the centuries of monastic tradition. From lavish 12th century abbeys to crumbling relics like Glastonbury, Knowles takes readers on an evocative visual tour. For scholars of British ecclesiastical history or any reader interested in these once-thriving monastic communities, this book provides revelatory perspectives from above.