Somerset stone specialists Medusa have won the contract for the stonework on the interiors and courtyard of the Islamic Centre, Oxford, a magnificent stone structure built by Lincolnshire company Ketton Architectural Stone & Masonry, whose next job is building the gatehouse and boundary walls.

The cost of the centre has increased from £30million when work began in 2002 to an expected £75million now.

The project got off the ground thanks to a £20million gift from the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia and land being made available by Magdalen College. But traditional building methods using stone imported from across the Islamic world has complicated its progress.

Islamic nations have added their support to the project to see it finished and the 9,000m2 interiors will include granites and limestones gifted to the project by the Yemen. Medusa will also be using some Ancaster limestone.

Nick Laurence of Medusa says they were invited to tender for the work after they had put a £160,000 marble bathroom into a Basingstoke home working with architects Blanchard, who are also the architects of the Islamic Centre.

The stone from the Yemen for the Islamic Centre will include Islamic patterns that will be produced for Medusa by Hampshire masonry company stoneCIRCLE.

The project could lead on to Medusa supplying stone from the Yemen for other projects in the UK. The Yemen does not currently export to the UK but is keen to do so.