A European initiative called New Deal for Innovation (NDI), designed to help business innovation and growth, saw 10 stonemasons from France making a trip to Kent this month (May).

They visited the masonry workshops at Canterbury Cathedral and the factory of stone company StoneWright, near Ashford, as well as taking a look at a one-day business-to-business exhibition in Kent called Kent2020, although there were no masonry companies exhibiting at it.

There are six partners in the NDI project (www.ndi-innovation.com), three in the UK and three in France. The three UK partners are Business Support Kent, Medway Council and Greenwich University. NDI is co-financed by the European Union through the INTERREG IVA (Channel) France–England, which works with businesses to help them seize opportunities available from co-operation.

The Chambre de Metiers in Lower Normandy supports the project on the French side and one of the key sectors of business in that area is stone – Caen is the largest City of the region and gives its name to one of its best known stones.

Many buildings in Kent, including Canterbury Cathedral, used Caen stone after the victory of William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066.

Canterbury Cathedral is currently using it, as well as Lepine stone from a quarry near Poitiers for renovation work being carried out by its 17 stonemasons, who include two apprentices and one trainee – hence the visit by the French visitors.

They were also interested to see the commercial factory at StoneWright, opened by brothers Adam and Adrian Wainwright in 2002 and equipped with Achille and Mondial saws and a Bremor 2000S radial arm processor.

M Groult, one of the visiting French masons, commented: “What is interesting is that businesses from Normandy are going to England to meet people who are doing the same work, in order to compare, exchange, discuss, see different techniques… what we can bring to each other. After, maybe, we can create partnerships.”