Recommended reading

Monasteries in the Landscape by Mick Aston (Tempus, 2000) £14.99
Mick explains how and why monasticism developed in Britain and why monasteries were placed where they were. This book also takes a look outside the monastery at the agricultural, industrial and commercial activities of monks and friars.

Discovering Abbeys and Priories by Geoffrey Wright (Shire, 1998) paperback £5.99
The new edition of this user-friendly handbook clarifies the difference between abbeys and priories, traces the history of monasteries from Anglo-Saxon times to the dissolution, and describes the different monastic orders. Considerable reference is made to sites open to the public.

Abbeys and Priories by Glyn Coppack (Batsford/English Heritage, 1990) paperback £15.99
This well-illustrated introduction to the archaeology of monasteries explains the development of the variations on the familiar layout of church and cloisters; it discusses the monastic precincts and such fundamental topics as the drainage and sanitation.

Brick Building in Britain by R W Brunskill (Orion, 1997) paperback £16.99 ISBN: 0575065354
Tudor remains are often instantly recognisable by the brickwork. The Tudors reintroduced the use of bricks in building in Britain for the first time since the Romans. The manufacture of brick, its use in historic buildings and the changing styles of brick-based construction and decoration are all described in this well-illustrated book.

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