A church design popular after the Great London Fire of 1666 necessitated the rebuilding of many parishes. Most famously designed by Christopher Wren, who measured how far the voice could be heard and designed their dimensions accordingly. They were often either square or round, without a chancel. The altar was placed upon the East wall with an altar rail surrounding it. The focal point was the pulpit. A baptismal font was placed at the west end. Over 50 parishes were built by Wren according to this design.
They were "open, airy, well-lit spaces, often circular in shape, where services can easily be heard, and likewise seen in one's own prayer book. They are something like the opposite of Gothic churches, those darkened divided chambers designed to enfold the holy mysteries of the Mass. The auditory churches fit a religion almost wholly of the book: they are made not for Holy Communion but for Morning Prayer and Evensong.... They were meant for congregational participation as well: clearly audible in them are not just the minister's prayers but the people's responses."--Alan Jacobs,
The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography, pp. 107-8
For more information, see:
The Church of England 1688-1832: Unity and Concord
The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey
A Brief History of the Episcopal Church on google books
A History of the English Parish: The Culture of Religion from Augustine to Victoria
Beauty of Holiness: Anglicanism and Architecture in Colonial South Carolina
