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The Stonemason

A History of Building Britain

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The Stonemason

By: Andrew Ziminski
Narrated by: Thomas Judd
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About this listen

Part hands-on archaeological history of Britain, part deeply personal insight into this ancient craft by a stonemason who has worked on Britain's greatest monuments, from Salisbury Cathedral to St Paul's.

Following a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, stonemason Andrew Ziminski has worked on many of Britain's greatest monuments, from the Roman ruins of Bath to Salisbury Cathedral's spire to St Paul's, and his three decades of work give a unique perspective on the warp and weft of English history, nature and geology.

From the first stone megaliths put up by Neolithic farmers through the Roman baths and temples, from the Anglo-Saxon and Norman churches to the engine houses, mills and aqueducts of the Industrial revolution, in The Stonemason Andrew journeys around by way of river, road and sea to explore the routes that ideas, migrants and building materials took to create some of Britain's most iconic historic buildings and ancient monuments.

©2019 Andrew Ziminski (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited Architecture Europe Great Britain England

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All stars
Most relevant
interesting journey through time and trade of the stone Mason. Interesting g for all

Good bit of history and masonry insight.

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A quite wonderful book for anyone interested in our built heritage from the Neolithic to Brunel. Andrew covers so many buildings I know well as a fellow west countryman and I've learnt so much more about their construction and conservation as a result of enjoying this book. I can't wait for Andrew's new book on churches to hit the high street!

Set in Stone

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Andrew is evidently a legend of the world of preservation. I loved this book. It is sensitive, extraordinarily well informed and utterly enjoyable. It covers a good amount of history as well as the craft of the stonemason and their tools. I really can not recommend this enough to anyone interested in history or indeed just a good story. Fascinating and brilliant. I will give it a month or two and start from the beginning again. There is so much information it merits a second visit and quite probably a third and fourth. Clearly, I suggest you sally forth and get this book.

What a brilliant and informative listen

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In attempting to reconnect us to this continuous narrative of English history and architecture, Ziminski is undertaking something more profound than the charm of this delightful book first suggests. Delicate as the threads that tie us to the past can seem, thanks to work like Ziminski's, both as mason and as author, we can hope they will remain unbroken

Really great my book of the year! (2023)

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I really like this is not a history it's not a lecture it's just a nice tail of recollections and informative pieces set on a journey round middle England.

A great winding sprawl that draws you on.

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