The Geology of Building Stones


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E-catalogue

The Geology of Building Stones

John Allen Howe

Hardback £36.00 $72.00

Publication date 2001

496 pages

ISBN 978 1 873394 52 6

UK and Rest of World
US only

John Allen Howe’s book, The Geology of Building Stones, written in 1910, was the first major reference work to feature information on the considerable range of building stones which were being used in the UK and which were still being quarried at that time.

This important and useful publication, now reprinted by Donhead, offers very detailed information on the appearance and qualities of the various types of stone being used at that time, including granite, sandstones, limestones and other lesser known building stones, specific to certain geographical areas. It also includes a good introduction to the effects of stone decay, in particular the problems of pollution, frost and organic growth in the breakdown of stone. His chapter on testing of stone was very much ahead of its time, since nearly a century later Britain is only now starting to obtain its first standard tests for building stone, in the form of European Standards.

This book will be a valuable source of reference for conservators, architects, surveyors, engineers and anyone seeking to identify stone in old or historic buildings.

Introduction to the 2001 edition
Click here to read the new introduction by David Jefferson

Contents:

Introductory; Table of strata v MineralsIgneous rocks – granite v Igneous rocks other than granite v Sandstones and grits v Limestones Slates and other fissile rocks v Miscellaneous building stones v The decay of building stone v The testing of building stones; Mohs’s scale of hardness v Appendices: Granite quarries; Classified list of larger sandstone quarries; Classified list of larger limestone quarries; List of chief slate quarries; Some useful books v Index.

Read the new introduction by David Jefferson

The author:

John Allen Howe O.B.E. started his career as a field geologist, first at the Royal College of Science in London, and then with the Geological Survey of Great Britain. However, his preference was for applied geology rather than fundamental research. In 1902 he became curator and librarian of the Museum of Practical Geology, a post he held until 1920 when he was appointed assistant to the director of the Geological Survey, retiring in 1931.

From the reviews:

… the only all-embracing text of its kind available on British (and Irish) building stones.

Journal of Architectural Conservation

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