Gargoyles are an architectural feature designed to throw rainwater clear of the walls of a building. Widely used on medieval churches, these water spouts were often richly decorated and fashioned as serpents' heads and grotesque demons. Today, the term gargoyle is also popularly applied to any carved decorative head or creature high up on a building, and this book is an exploration of all of these enchanting features. Written by an academic and stonecarver, it is the perfect introduction to this fascinating subject from the medieval period to the modern. It explores the typical imagery, the theories that explain them, and considers the carvings within their architectural and social contexts.

Introduction /The Medieval Context /Patrons and Masons /The Imagery of Gargoyles and Grotesques /Gargoyles and the Gothic Revival /The Conservation of Gargoyles and Grotesques /Places to Visit /Further Reading /Index

?Alex Woodcock is a stonemason at Exeter Cathedral and an archaeologist who specialises in medieval sculpture. He wrote his PhD thesis on medieval architectural stonecarving and has published numerous articles on the subject.