Search the Database

The County Index may be of most use to those interested in browsing the available entries.
The County Map option allows you to select a county from a national map and to view the distribution of available sites within it. Click on any individual site for a list of available images. (Please note - the County Map is not available in text only mode.)
If you are interested in a particular site, use the alphabetical Location Index.
The Search Form allows more complex searches, but the extent of available data varies. It may be best to begin with a broad category to ensure that you do not miss what you are looking for.
If you know the CVMA Inventory Number of a particular image, you can jump straight to the image record by entering the number here and clicking 'Go'. Note: it is not necessary to supply leading zeros.

There are currently 18820 images available in the database. Images with higher CVMA inventory numbers will be available later in 2009.

The Digitization Project

The photographic archive of the CVMA is housed at the National Monuments Record (English Heritage) in Swindon and contains approximately 30,000 images. These are being digitized, with priority given to the colour photographs. A pilot project in 1999 involved the scanning of over 3,500 subjects and a further 9,000 have been scanned between 2001 and 2004 with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Board. They are now freely available over the internet. High-resolution copies of photographs can be ordered from NMR Enquiry and Research Services (nmrinfo [at] english-heritage.org.uk), English Heritage, Kemble Drive, Swindon SN2 2GZ. Given this source for the images, sites are limited to England for the present.

Groundplans can be viewed for nearly 200 churches, supplied courtesy of the Lambeth Palace Church Plans Project.

Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi