The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum of buildings at Singleton, near Chichester in Sussex, has created a stoneyard in an old cart shed with the help of Adam Stone, the Managing Director of nearby Chichester Stoneworks and a Liveryman of the Masons’ Livery Company. The Livery Company has had a display of stonemasonry at the museum for many years.

Adam explains: “Our workday at the museum started with us setting up our new banker shop in the cart shed, delivering and unloading two small blocks of Portland limestone kindly donated by Portland Stone Firms. We are also shortly to take delivery of blocks of Ham and Bath stone donated by Ham & Doulting Stone and blocks of Hook and Fittleworth stone from Traditional Stone of Horsham. All in all, we’re soon going to look like a proper stoneyard.”

Students from Weymouth College will be manning the stone yard. Those currently working there at weekends are Andrew Smith, Alex Waddell, Joe Milne, Will Lovell and Emma Sheridan. Adam went along to set up the stone yard with experienced mason Lee Saunders. Without a forklift to unload the blocks of stone from a trailer lent by the museum, they resorted to the time-honoured method of rollers, leavers and skids. More sawn blocks were collected from Chichester Stoneworks’ off-cuts store.

A drawing table was set up and work for the coming months planned. It will involve making a chimney piece for the Georgian Society in Fitzroy Square, London, and the completion of a Norman arch, which had already been started at the museum’s stonemasonry exhibit. The off cuts from Chichester Stoneworks that will be used for the arch were split using coping chisels. Moulds and templates were prepared ready to start dressing five voussoirs on the next visit.

Adam: “All in all we had an excellent day’s work with great support from the museum. Martin, the blacksmith who has an exhibit there, even beat out some punches for us.

“So if anyone would like to come to see us on one of our planned working weekends at the Weald & Downland Museum, we would be most pleased to see you.”

The Museum has a collection of 50-plus historic buildings spanning more than 600 years. They are internationally recognised for their importance.