The formation of capital has long been a key element underpinning British economic history. This brief but perspicacious volume contains four papers: an economist’s view on capital formation (Jeffrey H. Coates); availability of capital in the West of England woollen industry (Kenneth Ponting); capital formation and technological change in South-West England metal mining in the nineteenth century (Christopher Schmitz); a note on housebuilding in Exeter, 1867–1940 (Brian Clapp).