Author
A.W. HENDRY University of Edinburgh

Abstract
There is considerable current interest in stone masonry buildings in relation to conservation and repair. Two categories of these buildings can be distinguished, first those which can be considered to consist of rigid blocks and second bearing wall structures. In the first category statical stability is the main consideration whereas in the second compressive strength of the masonry is of primary importance. The first part of the paper discusses the approach to assessing the stability of rigid block structures and conditions of safety and serviceability. The second part relates to materials and forms of construction used in stone masonry bearing walls and summarises available information on their compressive strength. Finally, the assessment of safety is discussed.