‘The Stone Skeleton’ was published as an article in the International Journal of Solids and Structures in 1966. That paper explored the mode of action of masonry construction, using the principles of plastic design developed originally for steel frames. The principles were applied to the analysis of the structural system of the Gothic cathedral, and the flying buttress and the quadripartite vault were treated in some detail, together with a brief discussion of domes. The paper attempted, in part, to treat the main elements in masonry construction, but there were very large gaps in the study. Other papers followed, filling in some of the holes, on spires and fan vaults, for example, on a fuller discussion of domes, and on the mechanics of arches. Some of the analytical work was collected and published in book form: Equilibrium of shell structures, Oxford, 1977, and The masonry arch, Ellis Horwood, 1982.

This present book attempts a synthesis of these studies of masonry, and presents a view of structural action which, it is hoped, will be helpful to those who wish to understand how a particular stone building might behave. Numerical calculations are made when they are necessary for the exposition, but there is virtually no mathematics in the present text; the analytical background may be found in relevant papers quoted in the bibliography. In particular, some attention is paid to the pathology of the different structural forms, and this is, of course, relevant to the repair and maintenance of a building.