Why do we know so little about the buildings which surround our everyday lives? How can a nation so obsessed with history have missed so many ancient buildings? Britain should be proud of its approximately 500,000 listed buildings – yet as many as 60 per cent may have been identified incorrectly. Behind a Victorian façade hides a Tudor house; underneath a Georgian frontage lies a mediaeval cottage; what is now a farm was once a castle. Many centuries-old buildings are missing from the list entirely. Drawing on his extensive field experience, James Wright explores the ways in which historic architecture has been observed, studied and conserved. The Buildings Archaeologist acts as a field guide to the written records, tree-ring dating and archaeology that help us to investigate the age, development and social history of ancient buildings from houses, castles and churches, to mills, factories and warehouses – all hidden in plain sight.
