The Stones of Britain
A History of Britain through its Geology
$21.25
- Paperback
400 pages
- Release Date
15 December 2026
Summary
‘Cannon has a keen descriptive eye and a striking, lyrical turn of phrase … a rich, warm, authoritative book’ TLS
This is the definitive tale of how our island history is written in stone.
The Stones of Britain is about how rocks make places, exploring the connection between geology and landscape, the stones beneath the surface and the history that has played out above it. It movingly investigates the diverse character of the British landscape, and the rich varie…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781472122087 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1472122089 |
| Author: | Jon Cannon |
| Publisher: | Little, Brown Book Group |
| Imprint: | Constable |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 400 |
| Release Date: | 15 December 2026 |
| Weight: | 41g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 126mm x 22mm |
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What They're Saying
Critics Review
I have read Jon’s book with sustained delight. It is partially that his voice is so distinctive and so compelling. There are sentences that make you want to stand up and cheer. More fundamentally though, this is a strangely, even uniquely, personal engagement with stone - the very thing most of us consider to be impersonal, obdurate, resistant. The passages that describe Jon in the landscape are striking, so is the tactile engagement with stone, and the weaving together of built environment and mythopshere. This is a book in which the character of stone begins to acquire a life of its own. These stones speak.
I will carry this with me as I might carry a bird book, to identify the ground beneath my feet. Like Jon himself, The Stones of Britain is full of charm and enthusiasm.
It is an extravagantly composed book (the author clearly enjoyed writing every page) … it offers nearly 400 pages of tables spread with delightful tales and snippets. This is a must-have one-off Christmas gift for the relative who has everything * Current Archaeology *
Cannon has a keen descriptive eye and a striking, lyrical turn of phrase … the book excels in the exercise of re-enchantment … a rich, warm, authoritative book * TLS *
Cannon makes himself our guide rather than our lecturer and conveys the flavour of his travels along with his information, with anecdotes of his thoughts and experiences. This makes for an attractive book about the whole of Britain, showing how geology has created the character of its regions, and encouraging readers to explore them for their own benefit. It is a final fitting piece of work by an original and stimulating historian, whom we lost far too early * Church Times *
About The Author
Jon Cannon
Jon Cannon (1962 - 2023) was an architectural historian, lecturer, and author. He worked for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and English Heritage.
Jon authored several highly acclaimed books, including:
- Cathedral: The Great English Cathedrals and the World that Made Them (Constable, 2007)
- The Secret Language of Sacred Places (Duncan Bird Publishing, 2013)
- Medieval Church Architecture (Shire Publications, 2014)
He also presented the BBC4 television documentary How to Build a Cathedral (2008).
Jon died in May 2023, shortly after writing his final book.
For over a decade, he served as ‘Keeper of the Fabric’ and then ‘Canon Historian’ at Bristol Cathedral. His memorial, carved into the fabric of the Cathedral’s Berkeley Chapel, acknowledges his contributions to the building and his wider work in fostering understanding and appreciation of religious structures.
Jon wrote about his passion: “I have a vocation, and it’s to do with places; with communicating, enthusing, analysing - in short, extollagising - about the nature of ‘old places’, and what makes them tick.”
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