The Stonemason (book)

rdf:langString The Stonemason (book)

rdf:langString The Stonemason: A History of Building Britain

rdf:langString The Stonemason: A History of Building Britain

rdf:langString Andrew Ziminski

rdf:langString United Kingdom

rdf:langString Clare Venables

rdf:langString The Stonemason: A History of Building Britain is a book written by Andrew Ziminski, published by John Murray in 2020. The book is divided into four parts, combining a chronological and geological approach, with each part concentrating on a single type of stone and how it is used in a particular architectural style and period. Partly an autobiography, the book features examples that are principally drawn from the author's own work in an area broadly corresponding to Wessex, and chapters are arranged to reflect the passage of a single year, beginning and ending at Samhain. Each chapter is preceded by a linocut print produced by Clare Venables. The first part, "Sarsen", describes the neolithic structures around Avebury and Stonehenge, beginning at West Kennet Long Barrow. This is followed by "Limestone", which describes the Roman baths of Aquae Sulis and some surviving Anglo-Saxon churches, such as St Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon. "Marble" considers the rise of Gothic architecture, and the influence of Purbeck Marble, which like other types of Purbeck stone is in fact a type of limestone. Finally "Concrete" discusses the influence of the Industrial Revolution on architecture around Bath, Somerset, and particularly the role played by the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Great Western Railway. As well as being a working stonemason, Ziminski is a William Morris Craft Fellow at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.