masoncraft

plural masoncrafts

1. countableuncountableThe skills of a mason; expertise in building with stone, brick, etc.

   Thus the second category of practica, which included carpentry and masoncraft, mirrored the theoretical science of mathematics.

   1979, Richard Morris, Cathedrals and Abbeys of England and Wales, page 105

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   The decay of masoncraft in the country generally is one of the things the lover of architecture most mourns, and this decay makes the preservation of the older work a matter of real national concern.

   1939, Oxoniensia - Volumes 4-7, page 88

   Monastic chronicles, building contracts and accounts and other contemporary documents have revealed a good deal of information about the practice of masoncraft in the Middle Ages.

   2000, Malcolm Hislop, Medieval Masons

2. countableuncountableMasonry; the work or output of a mason.

   For lightness and delicacy the masoncraft of Gloucester had no rivals at the time.

   1926, Oxfordshire Record Series - Volumes 8-9, page 40

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   Masoncraft, Freeman well shows, may, combined with writings, be a powerful factor in historic evidence; for the mind of a nation, at successive eras of its existence, is inscribed in its architecture.

   1896, Andrew Taylor, Ancient Towers and Doorways

   These two places of the same name are singular in possessing large churches of a masoncraft which seems peculiar to the Carpass, as far as Cyprus is concerned, a masoncraft evidently imitated from the buildings of the Latin Crusaders established in Syria during the XIIth century.

   1918, George Jeffery, A description of the historic monuments of Cyprus

   These refined masoncrafts are decorated with motifs or patterns that match the surrounding architectural molding of terraces, the bases of buildings, or the stone railings.

   1988, Frances Ya-sing Tsu, Landscape Design in Chinese Gardens, page 102

   The Silverman house was stoutly built, with snug masoncraft and tight joinery, but somehow the sudden storm pressed a vague draft through the dining room.

   2017, Dean Koontz, The Silent Corner, page 191