Thomas Nicholls, a 29-year-old stonemason and conservator, has been awarded a £14,400 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to study for a Postgraduate Diploma in Stone Carving at the City & Guilds of London Art School in Kennington, London.

Tom qualified as a stonemason six years ago. Recent work has included carving a replacement stone hand for the 19th century sculpture of Prince Edward on Fleet Street, cleaning and restoring the 16th century Kings Table in Westminster Hall and restoring the exterior of the Buxton Memorial Fountain in Westminster. A QEST Scholarship will enable him to progress his carving abilities. “I am passionate about the idea of expressing energy and movement through the medium of stone.” One of his works involving the theme of movement carved in Portland limestone is pictured above. It is called Velodrome. And Tom is pictured above working on a piece he calls Vortex Horse.

If you would like to apply for financial assistance to further your studies, application forms for QEST Scholarships can be downloaded from the website: www.qest.org.uk. Closing date for the next applications is 20 January.