This authoritative book is the first comprehensive study of domestic buildings in London from about 1200 to the Great Fire in 1666. John Schofield describes houses and such related buildings as almshouses, taverns, inns, shops, and livery company halls, drawing on evidence from surviving buildings, archaeological excavations, documents, panoramas, drawn surveys and plans, contemporary descriptions, and later engravings and photographs.

Schofield presents a comprehensive overview of the topography of the medieval city, reconstructing its streets, defenses, many religious houses, and fine civic buildings. He then provides details about the medieval and Tudor London house: its plan, individual rooms and spaces and their functions, the roofs, floors, and windows, the materials of construction and decoration, and the internal fittings and furniture. Throughout the book he discusses what this evidence tells us about the special restrictions or pleasures of living in the capital; how certain innovations of plan and construction first occurred in London before spreading to other towns; and how notions of privacy developed. The generously illustrated text is accompanied by a selective gazetteer of 201 sites in the City of London and its immediate environs.