Books and Source material

Below is a list of some books and sources of dry stone building information that we the members of DSWAI like and are happy to recommend to stone walling enthusiasts and lovers of all things STONE.

BOOKS

Please support the DSWAI by buying your books through the links below (click on a book below for more information and the link to buy online.)

Dry Stone Walls : Basics, Construction, Significance

A wonderful book on all aspects for dry stone construction. This beautiful bound hardback is packed full or rich photographs and illustrations. This Swiss book has recently been translated into English. Order it via the link below for free shipping.

Dry Stone Walling: Materials and Techniques

by DSWAI member Nick Aitken.

Corbelled Domes

Corbelled domed structures are both fascinating and ancient in technique. The process of corbeling has remained unchanged for thousands of years. The proof of this is that many of these ancient structures still stand today, a testament to their solid construction method. Renate Lobbecke has been tracking down such structures for over 25 years. On her travels in 15 countries she has captured photographs depicting this unique phenomenon of designed nature." Buy with free shipping below

Stone Walls - Personal Boundaries

Author: Mariana Cook "I photographed the wall. I made images of it in all seasons, of both the bits that were still upright and of the tumbled rocks, too. The appearance of each captivated me. I wondered about dry stone walls elsewhere. Over the next eight years, I traveled to places, quite arbitrarily, to see for myself: New England, Kentucky, Britain, Ireland, the Mediterranean, and Peru. Land itself does not know national or political bounds. Click on link below to buy with free shipping

Irish Stone Walls

Author: Patrick McAffe Publisher: O'Brien Press, Dublin Synopsis: Stone walls are a remarkable & historic feature of the Irish landscape. This book describes their history, showing the uses of stone in Ireland through the ages in walls & buildings. Includes a how-to section. Pat's book is widely available in all good bookshops, including Easons and can easily be ordered. Every library in the country will have a copy and failing you can get a copy with free shipping on the link below

Dry Stone Walling. A Practical Guide

by Alan Brooks and Sean Adcock 159 pages with 391 illustrations ISBN 0 946752 19 2 A very detailed and useful handbook for anyone who builds (or wishes to build) dry stone walls. This book along with all the other great TCV handbooks are now available online. Via subscription in the link below. DSWAI members get a 20% discount on listed prices.

ONLINE DRY STONE BUILDING RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

Stonechat magazine

Stone chat is the members periodical for the Welsh branches of the DSWA UK. Many of the bac editions are available for FREE download from the link above. A wonderful resource available at the click of a button

DSWA free publications

This link brings you to the DSWA Wales publications page where many of the Dry Stone Walling Association free booklets and publications have been made available for free download. There are also certification information and membership forms here. Many of the booklets are also available from the branches or by post from the DSWA website.

TCV's conservation handbooks online.
A series of handbooks, converted to digital format, covering everything from tree planting to dry stone walling, sand dunes to footpaths.
TCV's Conservation Handbooks are the definitive guides to practical conservation work. They have long been the definitive ‘how to’ guides to managing the countryside and green spaces. Originally over 1,000 pages of fantastic background, advice and instruction, written by experts, illustrated and clearly laid out in a step-by-step format. TCV handbooks (including Dry Stone Walling) are now available online. They are available via subscription for £12.50* but you get access to all ten for the price of one printed handbook, some of which are now out of print. Subscriptions via their website https://www.conservationhandbooks.com/

*DSWAI members can avail of a 20% discount on listed prices by using their membership discount code.

Dry Stone Resource website

A great website/blog where many of the wonderful publications of Sean Adcock (Hon Sec DSWA North Wales) plus many many more are available to read online for free. This includes excerpts from the professional DSWA members publication 'Waller and Dyker' and publications by NCPTT and authors such as Brian Post and Richard Tufnell.

Stone Ideas (online multilingual magazine)

Stone-Ideas.com is an independent magazine for architecture and design with natural stone published in the internet in five languages.
It includes many interesting articles on stone and its uses in contemporary construction and design as well as occassional articles on dry stone applications. The ezine also offers a free forthnightly newsletter (http://www.stone-ideas.com/newsletter_en/)

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