Traditional Buildings of the English Countryside

An Illustrated Guide

Do you know your longhouse from your laithe house? Your smock mill from your tower mill? Your dovecote from your bee bole? Perhaps no other country offers so rich and varied a heritage of traditional buildings as England. From windmills to water mills, cottages to castles, a wealth of architectural and more humble rural treasures awaits discovery. Geoff Sharpe's Traditional Buildings of the English Countryside provides a simple but informed guide to these delights and curiosities of the English countryside.

Drawing on forty years of experience of caring for historic buildings and structures, the author explains not just the purpose of these buildings but the part they played in the history of the countryside, showing how the buildings evolved and the ways in which people lived and worked in them. He brings his expert knowledge of traditional building techniques to explain the differences in materials, the ways in which they were worked, and the many regional variations to be found and enjoyed. Churches and farms, barns and kilns - from the grandeur of the great landed estates to the mysteries of the icehouse - the result is an invaluable guide that will enhance the reader's understanding and appreciation of England's rich and varied heritage.