Cathedrals such as Canterbury or Prague, or Abbeys such as Westminster represent supreme achievements of human labour and inventiveness, but have you ever wondered just how and why they were built, or wanted to learn more about their place in the lives of people who commissioned, laboured, and worshipped in them? Do you think of them as places of mystery and encoded secrets, statements of faith, expressions of civic pride or masterpieces of engineering and craftsmanship?

Please send your questions to expert@artandarchitecture.org.uk to arrive no later than the 27th February 2005. Paul will select the most inventive and insightful ones and we will publish his answers to coincide with the next Ask the Expert feature later this Spring.

Sadly we cannot enter into individual correspondence on any issue raised, however if you wish to learn more about the many courses offered by the Courtauld - from Summer Schools to Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees - then please visit www.courtauld.ac.uk and follow the links to Courses and Study Programmes.

For programmes at Somerset House for children, schools and adult learners please visit www.somerset-house.org.uk/learning