Discovering the Secrets of Britain's Ancient Buildings

Why do we know so little about the ancient buildings which surround our everyday lives?

Britain can be justifiably proud of approximately 500,000 listed buildings. Yet as many as 60% may have been identified incorrectly. Behind a Victorian façade is a Tudor house. Underneath a Georgian frontage is a mediaeval cottage. What is now a farm was once a castle. Many buildings, hundreds of years old, are entirely unlisted.

How can a nation, so obsessed with history, have missed so many ancient buildings?

The Buildings Archaeologist is the first book in over a quarter of a century which offers clues for discovering the secrets of Britain’s ancient buildings. It looks at the ways in which historic architecture has been observed, studied, and conserved. The puzzles surrounding why some buildings were listed and others overlooked will be solved. It acts as a field guide to the written records, tree-ring dating, and archaeology which help us to investigate the age, development, and social history of ancient buildings. These include houses, castles, churches, mills, factories, and warehouses hidden in plain sight.

James Wright will explain the fascinating, enigmatic, and surprising world of The Buildings Archaeologist using case studies drawn from Surrey and beyond. This event will be part of a nationwide tour linked to his new book.

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The speaker, James Wright (Triskele Heritage), is an award winning buildings archaeologist. He has over a quarter of a century of professional experience of ferreting around in people’s cellars, hunting through their attics and digging up their gardens. He hopes to find meaningful truths about how ordinary and extraordinary folk lived their lives in the past. He is the author of The Buildings Archaeologist which will be released by The History Press in October 2026.

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Approximate running times:

19.00: Doors

19.30-20.30: The Buildings Archaeologist

20.30-20.45: Q&A

20.45-21.00: Book signing

Description supplied by the event organiser.