This chapter discusses bookbinding in Britain during the period 1400-1557 by giving a general picture, drawing on surviving evidence, while also indicating some of the variations in practice that can be found. The materials most frequently used for end-leaves at this time were vellum or parchment and plain white paper. Late in the fifteenth century, parchment end-leaves were gradually replaced by paper. The shape of a binding and the way it was constructed depended to a large extent on its function and on the way the book was stored. The boards of fifteenth-century bindings were usually made of wood, although limp and semi-limp vellum or parchment bindings are also found. The most common covering material was tanned leather, usually calf, sometimes sheep, while tanned goatskin was occasionally used for fine bindings from the 1540s onwards. Towards the end of the fifteenth century, cheaper structures and less time-consuming practices were developed to keep pace with the increase in book production.