First published around 25 years ago, this classic has been fully revised for this edition. Nigel Pennick is a British national treasure for all the work he does on folklore, old rituals, ancient stone structures, talismans and geomancy, to name but a few things on his extensive repertoire of skills. This is a collection of all the rules and principles in the Western European tradition that shape the design and timings of monuments, larger occupied structures and whole towns. So in a way it’s a guide to sacred space – how it works and how we can create it for ourselves, albeit on a smaller scale. The book is full of diagrams, photos and illustrations. The text is not very dense and, even if we have no desire or intention to build any of these things, it’s just a fascinating book full of fascinating lore and amazing stories about how our ancestors gave meaning to space.

336pp, 227 x 150 mm, Paperback, 2022