Heart and soul in stone 

You will be hard pressed to find anyone who can talk about their stock in trade, in this case stonemasonry, with more passion and fervour than Graham Sykes, the 26-year-old Masonry Manager at York and Manchester-based building conservation firm William Anelay. He has a level of enthusiasm and knowledge of his craft that belies his age.

I grew up in Scarborough surrounded by the town’s historic architecture. That, combined with the fact that my father was in the construction trade, led me into stonemasonry – although it is also partly due to my interest in theology and religion and my love of early Gothic and the Arts & Crafts movements. It has all influenced my thinking.

We have a soul, and that’s reflected in the built environment around us. Unlike literature or politics, our architectural heritage tells no lies and reveals the innate links we have with our past.

I have always seen architectural features as a representation of social change and evolution through the centuries. It maintains the lineage of history.

But I pursued a number of paths before settling for stonemasonry six years ago. After leaving school I went to Art College and then spent a year out surfing and travelling before briefly becoming a chef. I spent the first two years of my stonemasonry apprenticeship at a firm in Hull before moving to Anelays four years ago.

It was while I was in Hull that I became aware of William Anelay’s reputation and long history – the company were continually being held up as a benchmark for quality. It became my ambition to join them.

I now spend a proportion of my working life involved in computer-aided design (CAD) and in particular 3D modelling. I find it fascinating that we still use geometrical principles formulated more than 500 years ago. That suggests there is a real truth in what we do.

Masonry shouldn’t be a case of rules about what should or what shouldn’t be done. It’s a learning process that should be complementary to the crafts people of old.

We have a responsibility to try and be faithful to the past, even in times such as these that are dominated by financial matters.

My first day at William Anelay’s was an enlightening one. I was surprised by the energetic working environment, which seems to fly in the face of the kinds of projects we carry out. There’s an ethos and structure that encourages education, training and free thinking. But it’s not imposed. It’s almost organic.

I’m now halfway through an HND in Building Studies and I want to go on and study part-time for a Masters Degree in Heritage Design & Planning.

Training and education is important and I support the new Heritage NVQ qualification. There are benefits to both the individual and the employer of achieving this NVQ during the traditional apprenticeship years. It builds up a loyalty and commitment to both the sponsoring employer and the industry in general.

Although my role at Anelay’s is predominantly office-based now and I enjoy the responsibility of managing the team of stonemasons, I am enamoured with the practical aspects of the craft.

My time here has also been a good grounding in the commercial requirements of a business. When I was a hands-on stonemason I was anti-money. I was idealistic. I still am, but now I recognise the practical requirement to make money without exploiting the customer.

My favourite project to date has been the work I carried out at St Anne’s Cathedral in Leeds, where I helped to set out and work the stone for the cathedra, ambo and altar. That for me was the pinnacle of all projects. I’d never worked on a project to that standard before.

I am positive about the future. Despite the perceptions of society there are a lot of enthusiastic young people like me who are taking up stonemasonry and have an interest in heritage trades in general. The industry as a whole needs to recognise, encourage and reward those individuals.