This is the final book in a series of works published by the late Nigel Yates on the religious architecture of the constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Yates's research is well-known and respected for combining an appreciation of the theological, liturgical and ceremonial changes from the Reformation onwards with an assessment of the impact that these had upon ecclesiastical architecture. The primary intention of Preaching, word and sacrament was to update George Hay's The architecture of Scottish post-Reformation churches, 1560–1843 (Oxford 1957), but it is none the less a slimmer volume when compared with Hay's 299 pages, 60 figures (mainly church plans) and a further 47 pages of plates. As his title implies, Yates has extended the coverage of his book beyond the Disruption to 1860, but in fact the scope of this work goes much further. The sixth chapter, ‘Liturgical and architectural developments since 1860’ considers not only later nineteenth-century changes but also churches erected/restored in the second half of the twentieth century, before concluding with reflections on the preservation and conservation of religious architecture in Scotland. Like Hay's, this survey is not confined just to the buildings of the Church of Scotland, but also embraces Roman Catholic and Episcopalian churches. The longer time period covered means that there is a brief consideration of the Free Church of Scotland and the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Furthermore Yates takes the opportunity in the appendices, which make up the final forty-five pages of this book, not only to update but also to provide more detailed information on the inventory of substantially unchanged post-Reformation churches identified by Hay. One of the strengths of this survey is the attempt to contextualise the ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland within the wider European perspective of Protestant church-building. In this respect, Yates goes significantly beyond Hay and draws upon recent literature on continental Reformed churches to examine the similarities and differences in liturgical practice and its implications for the church interior. For instance, he compares the Scottish custom of sitting around a long temporary table for the administration of the Lord's Supper, with arrangements elsewhere (p. 35). The fourth chapter, from the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, is probably the strongest in this book, drawing upon archival material (seating plans, kirk sessions minutes etc.) and site visits (the findings being included in the appendices) to forge a more detailed impression of the Scottish church interior. The very broad chronological and confessional range of this book does mean that it really can only provide an overview of the development of Scottish church interiors after the Reformation. None the less by drawing attention to research undertaken over the last half century – particularly in the last decade – as well as adopting a more interdisciplinary rather than a predominantly architectural perspective, Yates has provided a useful update to Hay's earlier work.