Gothic cathedrals are astonishing feats of construction and engineering, from a period before steel frames and machine tools, breathtaking in their scale and grandeur even hundreds of years after the religious impulse that produced them has largely faded away. Focusing on the golden age of cathedral construction, How to Build a Cathedral looks at each element of the structure in turn, from the ground plan to the topping out of the spire, and explains the medieval building process in detail. With text by a leading architectural historian, and sidebars telling the stories of the men behind the stones, this information-packed volume is an illuminating portrait of the genius of the medieval architect.

It explores and explains the building of these masterpieces from the ground plan to raising the spire. Beautiful engravings, specially commissioned illustrations and foldout pages allow a visual exploration of cathedral construction and A sixteen-page colour section enhances the appreciation of medieval building techniques, stained glass and coloured stonework.