This volume contains eight contributions on the common theme of masonry construction. The publication coincides with the retirement of Dr Jacques Heyman from his Professorship of Engineering in the University of Cambridge, and Headship of the University’s Engineering Department. It is entirely appropriate to have a collection of papers in honour of Professor Heyman at this time; for he has made signal contributions to our understanding of masonry construction over the past thirty years or so. It is no exaggeration to say that he has radically changed the way in which engineers think about masonry structures, particularly in relation to the old ecclesiastical buildings and bridges. Indeed it is hard to imagine what this subject would be like today in the absence of Professor Heyman’s seminal papers.