Gargoyles are an architectural feature designed to throw rainwater clear of the walls of a building.Widely used on medieval churches, these water spouts were often richly decorated and fashioned as serpents' heads and grotesque demons. Today, the term gargoyle is also popularly applied to any carved decorative head or creature high up on a building, and this book is an exploration of all of these enchanting features. Written by an academic and stonecarver, it is the perfect introduction to this fascinating subject from the medieval period to the modern.It explores the typical imagery, the theories that explain them, and considers the carvings within their architectural and social contexts.

King of Dust is a craftsman's personal journey through the landscapes of ancient sculpture which first inspired him to pick up tools. From the grandeur of Exeter cathedral to the strangeness of the font at Toller Fratrum in Dorset, this journey through the Romanesque celebrates the lives of medieval carvers and contemporary stonemasons, interwoven with Alex' own life as he slowly becomes a stonemason. This is the paperback edition of the much-praised hardback.

Gargoyles are an architectural feature designed to throw rainwater clear of the walls of a building.Widely used on medieval churches, these water spouts were often richly decorated and fashioned as serpents' heads and grotesque demons. Today, the term gargoyle is also popularly applied to any carved decorative head or creature high up on a building, and this book is an exploration of all of these enchanting features. Written by an academic and stonecarver, it is the perfect introduction to this fascinating subject from the medieval period to the modern.It explores the typical imagery, the theories that explain them, and considers the carvings within their architectural and social contexts.

King of Dust is a craftsman's personal journey through the landscapes of ancient sculpture which first inspired him to pick up tools. From the grandeur of Exeter cathedral to the strangeness of the font at Toller Fratrum in Dorset, this journey through the Romanesque celebrates the lives of medieval carvers and contemporary stonemasons, interwoven with Alex' own life as he slowly becomes a stonemason. This is the paperback edition of the much-praised hardback.