Customer Reviews

Guided by a Stonemason: The Cathedrals, Abbeys and Churches of Britain Unveiled

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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An excellent book about the history and construction of medieval churchs,abbeys,and cathderals.

The author , a working stone mason who has worked on the repair and restoration of these ancient buildings,gives insights into the development and technical details that went into creating these masterpieces.

The author's admiration for these builders is reflected in his discussion of the problems they encountered and how they arrived at solutions to create these masterpieces which have been handed down to our modern generation.

In additon, he also gives valuable insights into the history of the ancients times based on his intimate knowledge of the work undertaken by the builders.

The book is well illustrated with discriptive captions and is easily understood by the layman reader. I would highly recommend this book to any one who is interested in the medieval churchs and cathedrals of Britain.

Unlike so many books that I have read about churches and cathedrals, one will not need to keep an architectural dictionary or a reference book on the medieval church nearby as one reads. This will enhance both tours of the buildings and further reading. I will definitely keep this in my permanent collection.

Thomas Maude is a British stone-mason, and his love for his craft and the buildings that his fellow masons produced adds to the pleasure of reading.

The text is very well written, thorough and logically arranged. Maude works his way through the main structure of a cathedral, church or cloister in a way that is easy to follow and accompanied by well-chosen illustrations. He begins with Norman building styles and follows carefully through the developments in Gothic architecture. He explains the various types of building materials available in Britain, the daily offices of worship, the changing uses of various parts of the building (weddings used to be on the church porch, for example.)

The photography is all in black and white, except for the cover, and is generally very good with many excellent detail shots.

Extremely informative and a delight to read.

Even though the book is very nice and recommendable, it does not go into too much details. What I liked the most is that Mr. Maude covers some aspects in the design of the cathedrals and churches hardly to find in other books related to mediaeval architecture. I would recommend this book for someone looking for learning the basics and one who appreciates the religious lifestyle that prevailed at that time as an important factor for the design and construction of this sort of buildings. The explanations given by Mr. Maude concerning the physics used by the master builders to understand the behavior of walls, flying buttresses, arches, and other construction elements are very easy to follow. Definitely this is a book for a person who has just started into this wonderful subject of medieval construction.

Well done, fun read, plus very informative info by a fellow who has done the work. Good prep for a trip to the UK or anywhere you want look at buildings and figure out how the heck they made them. Really good detailed info on the more obscure parts of Gothic buildings like squints, low-sided windows, piscinas and more...way fun.

I am so glad I bought this book. It's incredible to read something written by a craftsman who can really share that hands-on feeling with the reader. It's enriched not only with his experience but also his obvious passion for the craftsmen who created those incredible cathedrals which still stand today, testament of the imagination, creativity, drive and knowledge of people long gone. He clearly knows his stuff, and gives a sense of context that avoids being simply academic or rote.

As a person who appreciates the beauty of these structures but possessing less than a gnat's understanding of any architectural terms whatsoever, I was afraid much of this would feel dry and above my head. Not so. It's eye-opening and marvelously accessible. I walked into a gothic cathedral today--one I've been in several times already--and was struck by how much more I appreciate it today, having read this book. Love it. Highly recommend it. :)

The strength of the book is Maude's hands-on experince, which he uses to illuminate a lot of material. The book could be a bit clearer in places, and could use some labelled diagrams. He does not cover the structural aspects in detail (see the very difficult The Stone Skeleton for that) but explains a lot of stuff I haven't found elsewhere (what for instance is a 'rood'.)