Roger Hunt is an award-winning writer with a particular interest in sustainable and vernacular architecture and the materials and techniques used in construction. He co-authored both Old House Handbook and the companion volume Old House Eco Handbook. His book New Design for Old Buildings (co-authored with Iain Boyd) explores how effective contemporary design can give new life to the historic environment. He is also the author of Rural Britain: Then and Now, a celebration of the British countryside, Villages of England and Hidden Depths, an archaeological exploration of Surrey’s past. Roger lectures on building-related issues, has been a judge of annual awards for new housing and has renovated a number of old houses.

Marianne Suhr is a Chartered Building Surveyor, writer and broadcaster specialising in the repair and retrofit of historic buildings. After a scholarship with the SPAB, she worked for seven years in architectural practice, then full-time on hands-on repair projects of her own including four very different old houses. She has run over 40 homeowners’ courses and numerous ‘limedays’ for the SPAB. She is co-author (with Roger Hunt) of Old House Handbook and Old House Eco Handbook, and has written and lectured extensively. Marianne was co-presenter of three series of BBC2’s ‘Restoration’. Marianne runs The Old House Consultancy in Oxfordshire, advising homeowners on repair, alteration and retrofit.