John Schofield is Cathedral Archaeologist for St Paul’s Cathedral. He worked at the Museum of London from 1974 until 2008, and is now a freelance archaeologist and architectural historian. He has written widely on the archaeology and building history of London and European towns, with several well-received books: The building of London from the Conquest to the Great Fire (3rd ed, 1999); Medieval London houses (2nd ed, 2003), [with Alan Vince] Medieval towns (2005), St Paul’s Cathedral before Wren (2011) and London 1100–1600: the archaeology of a capital city (2011). His next book will be on the historic waterfront of the City of London.
This is a well-produced book, with many clear illustrations properly captioned and indexed into the text... With the previous volume on the medieval cathedral, it provides a concise, fully referenced account of the archaeological discoveries made in the capital's greatest building and sits comfortable alongside the many architectural studies. -- The Archaeological Journal ...adds immeasurable value to how we perceive and understand this building. Did we need another book on this majestic cathedral? In this case it is a resounding 'yes'. -- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians This book is an excellent demonstration of the key role archaeological analysis plays in understanding buildings. It is a genuine contribution to the scholarship, containing much that has not been published elsewhere, and undoubtedly enhancing our understanding of one of England's most important landmarks. -- The London Review (5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM) The first ever account of the archaeology of Christopher Wren's cathedral...A detailed account of the construction of the cathedral is provided based on a comparison of the fabric with voluminous building accounts which have survived and evidence from recent archaeological investigation.-- , Issue 363/ May 2016