Public domain ebooks are a good place to get regarding your favorite subjects for free. Below are some examples I have discovered (about planning ), from different eras.

"The Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture, Elucidated by Question and Answer, 4th ed." By Bloxam, Matthew Holbeche. Written in the 1800s.
OF THE ANGLO-SAXON STYLE:

"Q. What vestiges of Roman masonry are now existing in Britain?

A. A fragment, apparently that of a Roman temple or basilica, near the
church of St. Nicholas at Leicester, which contains horizontal courses of
brick at intervals, and arches constructed of brickwork; the curious
portion of a wall of similar construction, with remains of brick arches on
the one side, which indicate it to have formed part of a building, and not
a mere wall as it now appears, at Wroxeter, Salop; and the polygonal tower
at Dover Castle, which, notwithstanding an exterior casing of flint, and
other alterations effected in the fifteenth century, still retains many
visible features of its original construction of tufa bonded with bricks
at intervals. Roman masonry, of the mixed description of brick and stone,
regularly disposed, is found in walls at York, Lincoln, Silchester, and
elsewhere; and sometimes we meet with bricks or stone arranged
herring-bone fashion, as in the vestiges of a Roman building at Castor,
Northamptonshire, and the walls of a Roman villa discovered at Littleton,
Somersetshire.

Q. Have we any remains of the ancient British churches erected in this
country in the third, fourth, or fifth centuries?

A. None such have yet been discovered or noticed; for the ruinous
structure at Perranzabuloe in Cornwall, which some assert to have been an
ancient British church, is probably not of earlier date than the twelfth
century; and the church of St. Martin at Canterbury, built in the time of
the Romans, which Augustine found on his arrival still used for the
worship of God, was rebuilt in the thirteenth century, but, to all
appearance, with the same materials of which the original church was
constructed.

Rural Architecture, Being a Complete Description of Farm Houses, Cottages, and Out Buildings. Also written in the 1800s.
MATERIAL FOR FARM BUILDINGS:

"We cannot, in the consideration of material for house-building
therefore, urge upon the farmer the adoption of either of the above
named materials to the preference of another, in any particular
structure he may require; but leave him to consult his own circumstances
in regard to them, as best he may. But this we will say: _If it be
possible_, never lay a _cellar_ or underground wall of perishable
material, such as wood or soft bricks; nor build with soft or _unburnt_
bricks in a wall exposed to the weather _anywhere;_ nor with stone which
is liable to crumble or disintegrate by the action of frost or water
upon it. We are aware that unburnt bricks have been strongly recommended
for house-building in America; but from observation, we are fully
persuaded that they are worthless for any _permanent_ structure, and if
used, will in the end prove a dead loss in their application. Cottages,
out-buildings, and other cheap erections on the farm, for the
accommodation of laborers, stock, or crops, may be made of wood, where
wood is the cheapest and most easily obtained; and, even taking its
perishable nature into account, it may be the most economical. In their
construction, it may be simply a matter of calculation with him who
needs them, to calculate the first cost of any material he has at hand,
or may obtain, and to that add the interest upon it, the annual wear and
tear, the insurance, and the period it may last, to determine this
matter to his entire satisfaction--always provided he have the means at
hand to do either. But other considerations generally control the
American farmer. His pocket is apt more often to be pinched, than his
choice is to be at fault; and this weighty argument compels him into the
"make shift" system, which perhaps in its results, provided the main
chance be attained, is quite as advantageous to his interests as the
other.

You can find more works at Gutenber.org.
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