THE STONEMASON by Andrew Ziminski, read by Thomas Judd - Audiobook extract
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, 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.