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A stonemason's story of the building of Britain: part archaeological history, part deeply personal insight into an ancient craft. In his thirty-year career, stonemason Andrew Ziminski has worked on many of our greatest monuments. From Neolithic monoliths to Roman baths and temples, from the tower of Salisbury Cathedral to the engine houses, mills and aqueducts of the Industrial Revolution and beyond, The Stonemason is his very personal history of how Britain was built - from the inside out. Stone by different stone, culture by different culture, Andrew Ziminski (with his faithful whippet in tow) takes us on an unforgettable journey by river, road and sea through our countryside showing how the making of Britain's buildings offers an unexpected and new version of our island story. 'My school history lessons were focused around flat pages of facts, events and royal personalities, but for me it was the material aspects of the past, the tangible remnants left behind that were thrilling, and that it was these buildings and places, and learning how they worked, that really brought the past alive.'
Churches are many things to us - they are places of worship, vibrant community hubs and oases of calm reflection. To know a church is to hold a key to the past that unlocks an understanding of our shared history.Andrew Ziminski has spent decades as a stonemason and church conservator, acting as an informal guide to curious visitors. Church Going is his handbook to the medieval churches of the British Isles, in which he reveals their fascinating histories, features and furnishings, from flying buttresses to rood screens, lichgates to chancels. Beautifully written and richly illustrated, it is a celebration of British architectural history.
A joyous and illuminating exploration of our glorious heritage of old churches. A must for anyone who's ever stared at an apse or a misericord with no idea what they're looking at - Sir Tony Robinson Andrew Ziminski's books are treasure troves of lived and learned experience. They have changed the way I look at buildings and Britain - Max Porter, author, Grief Is the Thing with Feathers From bulletholes in weathervanes to beehives in church walls, Ziminski has an eye for charming details and an ear for a good story - Peter Ross, author, Steeple Chasing Churches are many things to us - they are places of worship, vibrant community hubs and oases of calm reflection. To know a church is to hold...
Author Ian Cramb was a fifth-generation stonemason who relied on traditional methods to create and restore beautiful stone structures. In this do-it-yourself manual for homeowners, masonry contractors, and restoration specialists, Cramb drew on his fifty years of life experience in the craft to cover restoration techniques for historic structures in the U.S. and Britain. The book covers various types of stone, stone-cutting, and traditional mortar mixes for walls, foundations, and buildings.
The brand-new, gripping historical novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Lady of Hay! ‘Warmth, depth, mystery, magic and the supernatural ... such a beautiful book!’ bestselling author Santa Montefiore
‘Somerville is one of our finest gazetteers of the British countryside. He brings his formidable knowledge to bear on his personal quest to explore the cathedrals in this entrancing book’ The Spectator Christopher Somerville, author of the acclaimed The January Man, pictured cathedrals as great unmoving bastions of tradition. But as he journeys among Britian’s favourites, old and new, he discovers buildings and communities that have been in constant upheaval for a thousand years. Here are stories of the monarchs and bishops who ordered the construction of these buildings, the masons whose genius brought them into being, and the peasants who worked and died on the scaffolding. We learn of rogue saints exploited by holy sinners, the pomp and prosperity that followed these ships of stone, the towns that grew up in their shadows. Meeting believers and non-believers, architects and archaeologists, the cleaner who dusts the monuments and the mason who judges stone by its taste, we delve deep into the private lives and the uncertain future of these ever-voyaging Ships of Heaven. ‘Somerville paints word pictures of exquisite quality’ Church Times
A useful, concise guide to the world of the mason, during a time when stone was the principal building material and masons played an essential role in the construction of Europe's most remarkable buildings.
This text shows how to build a wall using the traditional method of dry stone masonry in which carefully selected stones are properly stacked and held together without mortar. As well as being beautiful, a dry stone wall is stronger, more stable and more resistant to climate than a mortared wall. More than 100 full colour photographs of walls, bridges and decorative garden elements in various steps of construction are presented as well as illustrations that show the steps and cross sections that highlight the building methods.
Using a mimimum of technical jargon, this is a history of the early use of stone, and a description of English building-stones. Chapters cover types of masonry, mortars and pointing, decorative uses of stone, and roofing. An essay by Michael Stratton on contemporary stone building is included.
"Presents a completely new look at cathedrals, abbeys and churches through the eyes of a vastly-experienced working stone mason." --Cover.