Overview

An investigation and explanation into commonly repeated stories about historic architecture. Go to any mediaeval building in the land and there will be interesting, exciting and romantic stories presented to the visitor. These stories include those of spiral staircases in castles giving advantage to right-handed defenders, grooves left in church porches by archers sharpening their arrows and secret passages leading from the manor houses to nunneries. Ship timbers are often cited as being used in terrestrial buildings. Burn marks on those timbers are said to be the result of unattended candles. Blocked doors in churches are thought to keep the Devil out. Delightful as these tales are, they can be a little misleading in some cases and absolute myths in others. AUTHOR: James Wright is an award-winning freelance buildings archaeologist who specialises in mediaeval and early modern architecture. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people's cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He holds both a BA and PhD in Archaeology from the University of Nottingham and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He is a recognised specialist in timber-framed vernacular buildings and has expertise in understanding the development of folklore and myths relating to the historic built environment. He has over 10,000 Twitter followers, is an experienced nationwide public speaker and has made many appearances on TV, radio and podcasts. 20 colour illustrations

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9781803994475

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Reviews

'Funny, occasionally filthy and ultimately fascinating.' -- Richard Herring * Comedian * 'James Wright pours gallons of boiling oil on myths about ancient buildings. But it’s not really boiling oil, is it.' -- Jonathan Foyle * Television presenter and architectural author * 'This erudite and analytical work constructively picks apart the folklore and myths surrounding many of the most misinterpreted aspects of our rich historic architecture. Anyone with an interest in architecture should read this book!' 'If you are expecting a diminished, slightly less colourful sense of the past that you might expect from a ‘mythbusting’ book then think again, for what emerges in these pages is exactly the opposite. Here the familiar gives way to the extraordinary, fiction bends to wild truths, and historic buildings themselves emerge as a living and breathing means of understanding our environment, our ancestors and, indeed, ourselves.' -- master stonemason and author of King of Dust 'As the Fake History Hunter, I search museums, books and the internet for history related misinformation - debunking myths and misconceptions where I can. James’ knowledge has been an invaluable weapon in my armoury, and he proves his talent for this kind of detective work in this wonderful book!' -- Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse * Fake History Hunter, author of Fake History: 101 Things that Never Happened * 'An entertaining and informed jaunt through the world of buildings archaeology, that opens up the many and varied stories of our shared past – and lovingly breaks down many of the myths that that still linger. A thoroughly enjoyable – and informative – read.' -- Matthew Champion * Archaeologist and author of Medieval Graffiti * 'With the confidence born of hands-on knowledge, James Wright dismantles myth after myth about old buildings – but he’s never unkind, and never forgets that stories matter just as much as histories.' -- Jeremy Harte * Folklorist and author of Cloven Country * 'Forget everything you knew - or thought you knew - about medieval buildings. From secret tunnels to boiling oil, James Wright firmly dispels the myths in this thoroughly entertaining and informative tome.' -- Sharon Bennett Connolly * Historian and author of Heroines of the Medieval World * 'An authoritative, accessible and superbly researched exploration of the perpetuation of some of our most prevalent buildings-related tall tales, presented with vigour and a hefty dose of common sense.' -- Tracey Norman * Folklorist and author of Dark Folklore * 'In this fascinating volume, James takes an insightful look into many popular assumptions about historic buildings which seem to proliferate widely and in doing so helps us question the real reason things were done the way they were.' -- Brian Hoggard * Independent researcher and author of Magical House Protection *

Funny, occasionally filthy and ultimately fascinating. -- Richard Herring * Comedian * James Wright pours gallons of boiling oil on myths about ancient buildings. But it’s not really boiling oil, is it. -- Jonathan Foyle * Television presenter and architectural author * This erudite and analytical work constructively picks apart the folklore and myths surrounding many of the most misinterpreted aspects of our rich historic architecture. Anyone with an interest in architecture should read this book! If you are expecting a diminished, slightly less colourful sense of the past that you might expect from a ‘mythbusting’ book then think again, for what emerges in these pages is exactly the opposite. Here the familiar gives way to the extraordinary, fiction bends to wild truths, and historic buildings themselves emerge as a living and breathing means of understanding our environment, our ancestors and, indeed, ourselves -- master stonemason and author of King of Dust As the Fake History Hunter, I search museums, books and the internet for history related misinformation - debunking myths and misconceptions where I can. James’ knowledge has been an invaluable weapon in my armoury, and he proves his talent for this kind of detective work in this wonderful book! -- Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse * Fake History Hunter, author of Fake History: 101 Things that Never Happened * An entertaining and informed jaunt through the world of buildings archaeology, that opens up the many and varied stories of our shared past – and lovingly breaks down many of the myths that that still linger. A thoroughly enjoyable – and informative – read. -- Matthew Champion * Archaeologist and author of Medieval Graffiti * With the confidence born of hands-on knowledge, James Wright dismantles myth after myth about old buildings – but he’s never unkind, and never forgets that stories matter just as much as histories. -- Jeremy Harte * Folklorist and author of Cloven Country * Forget everything you knew - or thought you knew - about medieval buildings. From secret tunnels to boiling oil, James Wright firmly dispels the myths in this thoroughly entertaining and informative tome. -- Sharon Bennett Connolly * Historian and author of Heroines of the Medieval World * An authoritative, accessible and superbly researched exploration of the perpetuation of some of our most prevalent buildings-related tall tales, presented with vigour and a hefty dose of common sense. -- Tracey Norman * Folklorist and author of Dark Folklore * In this fascinating volume, James takes an insightful look into many popular assumptions about historic buildings which seem to proliferate widely and in doing so helps us question the real reason things were done the way they were. -- Brian Hoggard * Independent researcher and author of Magical House Protection *

Funny, occasionally filthy and ultimately fascinating. -- Richard Herring * Comedian *

Author Information

James Wright is an award-winning freelance buildings archaeologist who specialises in mediaeval and early modern architecture. He has two decades professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He holds both a BA and PhD in Archaeology from the University of Nottingham and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He is a recognised specialist in timber-framed vernacular buildings and has expertise in understanding the development of folklore and myths relating to the historic built environment. He has over 10,000 Twitter followers, is an experienced nationwide public speaker and has made many appearances on TV, radio and podcasts.

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