Pargeting is the decoration of plastered and rendered finishes on the outside of a building. It is an art and craft that dates back many centuries and varies considerably in technique. Today pargeting is mainly associated with East Anglia, but it once had a wider distribution; many good examples have been lost through neglect, redevelopment, changing taste and fire. There is now a revival of interest in pargeting, and craftsmen are again being commissioned to produce new work.
Tim Buxbaum is a chartered architect whose practice believes in good new building design and the sensitive...

In the days before refrigeration, icehouses were designed to store ice in bulk for summertime use. This book examines icehouses in Britain, where they were built in increasing numbers from the early seventeenth century, initially to provide chilled refreshment for the wealthy. By the mid nineteenth century most country estates would have had one. Their design improved as scientific knowledge increased and, although the majority of icehouses remained plain, some exuberant structures were built. Commercial icehouses were erected to serve confectioners, grocers and the fishing industry, for...