BOOK REVIEWS AND ARTICLES

The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture

Author Jacques Heyman

Cambridge University Press

2nd Edition  2026

Hardback ISBN 9781009682411. RRP £70

Paperback ISBN 9781009682367 RRP £28

“The mere survival of ancient buildings implies an extreme stability of their structure … it is the intention of this book to explain this extraordinary stability.”

The first edition of Jacques Heyman’s book, The Stone Skeleton, was published in 1995, with the paperback coming out in 1997. I got my paperback copy shortly after. This is an important book. Written by an engineer, it is a gift to every engineer, surveyor and architect who deals with historic masonry, especially gothic structures. It is essential reading, or rather, an essential and engrossing study, from an author who carries his huge scholarship lightly. Peppered through the book are references to architectural history and to well-known buildings, to illustrate and connect with his text. Study this book well and you will not be shortchanged.

This second edition proves the value of the first. Jacques Heyman hasn’t had to revise the essential content of the first edition, indeed what he wrote then still stands, but he has expanded the book incorporating the results of his subsequent research and publications. The new material is also important. In chapter 5, the new material deals with what he terms ‘Rectangular Windows’ (i.e. mullioned and transomed), Rose Windows and Straight Stairs (commonly and inaccurately known as cantilevered stairs). Other new material includes the study of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral (chapter 3), the vault of Henry VII chapel (chapter 4), fissures in walls and towers (chapter 6).

Many diagrams have been redrawn to clarify their content. In the first edition, some line drawings could be an enjoyable Gestalt puzzle! To follow the calculations included in the text, a basic grasp of mathematical mechanics is needed, but this should not deter anyone from engaging with this book because Heyman establishes very clearly, that the key to understanding masonry, “is to be found in a correct understanding of geometry”. Such understanding should be accessible to anyone who presumes to work on masonry structures. In the preface, there is a caution against engineering theory being applied to masonry structures: “The use of an incorrect or incomplete theory has consequences, and now buildings which have survived for centuries are wrongly considered to be unsafe. As a consequence, expensive and damaging interventions are being made to existing structures all over the world today.” Beware!

Professor Heyman does make the reader work. As was said of Clement Atlee, he doesn’t use two words where none will do, and a dry humour comes through – do not be taken unawares. The text leads you to thinking about the problems.

The printing of the well-chosen diagrams is better than in the first edition, and they need to be carefully studied alongside the text. For example, in the historical illustration from Villard de Honnecourt’s sketchbook, what might look like a sprouting tree is a mediaeval representation of a temporary support, with a rope attached, to be pulled away when the prop support has served its purpose.

Especially important for the non-engineer, is starting the book by reading the Foreword and the Preface, too readily skipped over, and then proceeding to read chapter 8, ‘Some Historical Notes’, before going to chapter 1. This sequence provides an easy access ramp for the non-specialist. Once the content of this book is absorbed by an architect or surveyor, the fundamentals of masonry architecture should be theirs for good, enabled to engage in an informed way with specialists, and know what to look for if involved with choosing or commissioning a specialist engineer to work on historic masonry.

Historic masonry was not calculated. Professor Heyman applies his theory to show how structural action of gothic buildings can operate in the real world, answering the question ‘is it safe’ under working conditions. It is important to note that his calculations are not for the design of masonry, but only to demonstrate that there is an applicable engineering solution which is ‘safe’. Thus he rescues masonry from ignorance and misunderstanding. This book is essential for students and practitioners. One to keep.

Reviewed by: Colin Kerr, Architect
1 February 2026

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS

Despite the difficulties thrown up by Transport for London, the meeting at the Gallery on 21st November proved entertaining and informative for all. The final result of the voting showed that Pevsner’s Buildings of England was resoundingly the most influential publication for our members.

1. Pevsner, Nikolaus   Buildings of England series
2. Brunskill, R W  The Illustrated Handbook of Vernacular Architecture
3. Colvin, Howard  Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660-1840 
4. Clifton-Taylor, Alec  The Pattern Of English Building
5. English Heritage  Practical Conservation Series (1st edition)
6. Binney, Marcus and Emma Milne  Vanishing Houses of England – A Pictorial Documentary of Lost Country Houses
7. Insall, Donald  The Care of Old Buildings Today: A Practical Guide
8. ICOMOS  The Burra Charter (1979 and later editions)
9. Powys, A R  Repair of Ancient Buildings
10. Cullen, Gordon  Townscape
11. Fletcher, Banister  Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method
12. English Heritage  Conservation Principles, Policies and Guidance
13. Feilden, Bernard  Conservation of Historic Buildings
14. Caroe, Alban and Martin  Stonework: Maintenance and Surface Repair
15. Cantacuzino, Sherban  New Uses for Old Buildings
16. Heyman, Jacques  The Stone Skeleton: Structural Engineering of Masonry Architecture
17. Worskett, Roy  The Character of Towns 
18. Fawcett, Jane Ed. The Future of the Past
19. Charles, Frederick WB, and Mary Charles  Conservation of Timber Buildings
20. Harvey, John  Conservation of Buildings

Members talked about their nominations: Ian Bristow on Pevsner, Jenny Freeman on Brunskill, Hugh Feilden championed Heyman’s Stone Skeleton, Alasdair Glass spoke on Sir Donald Insall’s Care of Old Buildings, and Robyn Pender on Practical Building Conservation. Richard Woolf made a plea for revisiting Banister Fletcher and Sherry Bates supported the construction books of Rivington and McKay. Charles Wagner pointed out the importance of the Burra Charter and EH Conservation Principles in setting frameworks for assessing the values of conservation, and Helen Axworthy paid tribute to Ian Bristow’s volumes on architectural colours and their analysis. Malcolm Dickson recommended the Historic Scotland publications and the works of the Survey of London, and Karen Butti told of her introduction to conservation through John Ashurst’s  Mortars, Plasters and Renders. Sir Donald Insall summed up with the authors that had influenced him.

In the course of putting together the list, Jean Letherby noted that many of the books were out of print and that there was a shrinking number of publishers. People tended to look to the internet and YouTube for guidance, which raised the question ‘Where will we find authoritative guidance in the future?’

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS -VOTE NOW

The top 20 of your nominations have been listed and voting forms circulated by email. If you have had difficulty voting online, there are further instructions here and voting form here. Please vote by close of day, Sunday 19th November, and join us on Tuesday 21st November at the The Gallery to debate the top five.

The top 20 books are:

We will be publishing a list with all the nominations, including those that arrived later, and publishing a report of the debate in Transactions.

ASCHB AT 50: INFLUENTIAL BOOKS

ASCHB has recognised that over the past 50 years there have been certain books which have influenced the practice and philosophy of the conservation of buildings and places. The influence may have been for good or ill, but they have left their mark.

ASCHB invites you to nominate the five books you think are the most influential, with your reasons, in not more than 50 words. We will draw up a list of the fifty most nominated books, publish it on our website, and ask for your votes for the best.

We will debate the merits of the top five at our meeting on 21st November.

Please submit your nominations by email through the contacts page on our website, or by post to 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ

Nominated Books, in alphabetical order of author, as at 3rd November 2017:

The publications of the Architectural Press in the late 1970s, e.g. Three Centuries of British Craftsmanship, were also nominated as a group.

Book: “Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape”

Author: Mary-Ann Ochota

Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd, London 2016 RRP £20.00

This book was presented as a tome that would interest families, but it is far more than that. Admittedly in areas where one has expertise it can seem a bit patronising, but the sheer breadth of subjects covered makes this an invaluable book to take on trips around the British Isles and to have at home, both as a reference book and a book you can just dip into when you have a few moments of peace.

It starts off looking a ‘lumps and bumps’ which covers all forms of prehistoric earthworks from forts to burials, to hedges and ridge and furrow. It looks at ‘stones’ from standing stones to stone carvings to finding flint tools. It continues with ‘lines’ covering road and field boundary alignments to ancient woodland and trees. Its longest section is ‘in the village’ where it covers placenames, buildings and materials and all sorts of other structures and features.

Dip into a section and you may think you know about a particular area of, say, the history of roads but there are always facts you did not know about lurking in the text.

This is a highly readable book containing so much information for both families on outings and the professional involved in the building, development and transport world. I would highly recommend it as reference book for every home and office. It is an excellent accompaniment to earlier publications by Common Ground, founded in 1983 by Sue Clifford, Angela King and Roger Deakin to seek imaginative ways to engage people with their local environment. It champions the idea of local distinctiveness, and without saying as much, this book does the same in an engaging and intelligent way. A must have.

Reviewed By: Charles Wagner, President of ASCHB and Planning & Heritage Consultant