THE STONEMASON
AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO BRITAIN'S BUILDINGS
Available from Toppings booksellers, Bath, Hunting Raven, Frome , Devizes books & Yellow -lighted Bookshops, South Gloucestershire.
Over the past thirty years Andrew Ziminski has worked as a stonemason from his base in Frome, Somerset on some of our greatest monuments.
From repairs to a megalithic burial chamber and the reconstruction of a Roman temple façade to an Anglo-Saxon shrine and Salisbury's medieval cathedral Andrew's craft skills and knowledge have been put to good use.
'The Stonemason' published by John Murrays, tells the history of how Britain was built - from the inside out, stone by different stone, culture by different culture in a journey by canoe along river, canal and sea that offers a new version of our island story.
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(Above) Andrew talking about his Craft for the Bridport Lit Festival.
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Andrew is a SPAB William Morris Craft Fellow, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London &
consultant to the Salisbury Diocesan Advisory Committee for the conservation of stonework & monuments.
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The Stonemason has received some great reviews, including;
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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, Daily Telegraph
Andrew Ziminski is the man who rebuilt the West Country. For 30 years, this skilled stonemason has renovated some of Britain's greatest buildings . . . The author skilfully explains the history of these stones and - this is what makes his book so entertaining - relates them to jobs he has done . . . Ziminski is one of those lucky souls with rural X-ray spectacles. He looks at the countryside and sees a series of historical slides going back over several millennia . . . Ziminski has a wonderful way of describing the look and feel of stone . . . What a magician!, Spectator
The author's eagerness to experience the past physically sets him apart from drier academic historians . . . Ziminski's writing is vividly evocative and craftsmanlife . . it's a fascinating book and a wise one, Daily Mail
Like nurses, masons must know in detail about the lives of the buildings they care for. This intimate knowledge has given Andrew Ziminski unique insights into some of England's oldest and most beautiful structures. But this book is as much about people as mortar and stone. It's a conversation with the past, from which I learnt so much. My book of the year!,
Francis Pryor, Time Team archaeologist & author of THE MAKING OF THE BRITISH LANDSCAPE
Thoughtful, observant and well-informed, as much at ease with words and emotions as with the stone he works with, History Today
A wonderful behind-the-scenes history, where time works on a different scale and stone is a living, breathing entity . . . by a master craftsman whose expertise connects him to the generations that came before him, BBC Countryfile Magazine
There are few reading pleasures that compare with a passionate expert describing their work, and Ziminski stands proudly in this field . . . Remarkable . . . Ziminski weaves together architecture, craft, landscape, archaeology and natural history, all the time keeping a sharp eye on modern everyday life around him, Literary Review
Enthralling . . . Along with riveting personal insights into this ancient craft, he immerses us in the past lives of the long-forgotten everyday craftspeople whose legacy is the buildings we so treasure today, Bookseller​
World of Interiors Feature - Journal Of A Stonemason
