Organised in partnership with Historic England, Conservation Day at last year’s Stone Show provided a fascinating look at a varied range of topics spanning conservation within the stone industry, and you can now view all three sessions from the days programme online. These are:

Responsible sourcing of building stone: online tools
Introduction by chair Tim Yates, Principal Consultant, Built Environment Team - BRE
Clara Willett, Senior Building Conservation Advisor – Historic England discusses the launch of The Building Stones Database for England; Ali Davey, Project Manager, Traditional Skills & Materials - Historic Environment Scotland, and Jim Hart, Sustainability Consultant - JH Sustainability Ltd, introduce Historic Environment Scotland’s Stone Carbon Calculator; and Dr Andy King, Technical Director & Principal Geologist – Geckoella Ltd, looks at identifying and sourcing building stone on a small scale for the repair of historic buildings.
 

Understanding stone in relation to climate change: a selection of current research projects
Introduction by chair Clara Willett, Senior Architectural Conservator - Historic England
Chris McLean, Senior Works Manager - Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Jon Gedling, Director of Works - Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and Chris McLean, Senior Works Manager - Commonwealth War Graves Commission explore climate change adaptations on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission estate including enzyme cleaning trials; Dr Philip Skipper, Researcher - Lincoln University & Consultant - Philip Skipper Heritage Science Services, and Dr Lynda Skipper, Senior Lecturer & Programme Leader - Lincoln University, look at understanding and measuring how stone properties influence biological growth; Andrew More, Senior Building Services Engineer - Historic England, discusses treating organic growth using UVC light; and finally Michael Sheppard, Deputy Director - Cathedrals Workshop Fellowship (on behalf of the Institute of Conservation (Icon)), presents Conserving the past, building the future: a collaborative approach.
 

Sustainable supply of roofing stone and slate
Introduction by chair Alison Henry, Head of Building Conservation - Historic England
Alison Henry, Head of Building Conservation - Historic England, and Ian Ramsay, Sales Manager - Burlington Slate Ltd. Ian Ramsay, Sales Manager - Burlington Slate Ltd, presents Cumbrian Slate: traditional production for heritage projects; John Owens, Technical Sales Manager - Breedon Group, presents Welsh Slate roofing: 5 million years old and still going strong; and lastly Richard Jordan, Technical Trainer/Assessor & Building Conservation Consultant - Jordan Roofing Ltd, presents Thorpe Satchville case study: Swithland Slate.

Watch all the videos now, here.

Six years after Wells stonemason and sculptor Paul Roddan staged the first Wells Stone Carving Festival, the event is returning to the Bishop's Barn (the medieval tithe barn owned by the council of the UK's smallest cathedral city) from 4-6 May 2024.

As well as being a qualified stonemason, Paul is a Yeoman of the stonemasons’ Livery Company in London (The Worshipful Company of Masons), which is once again supporting this year’s festival. There is further support from Whiteway Quarry, which is supplying the Marnhull stone the competitors will use; Toolmaker G Gibson & Co; Glastonbury Marquees, which will supply the marquee the carvers will work in; and creative street and hoarding advertising specialists Buildhollywood. Sponsorship opportunities are still available if anyone else wants to get involved.

Paul told former Stone Specialist editor, Eric Bignell: “While it's been a whirlwind getting everything together for this event there's a buzz of excitement that comes with putting on a stone carving festival. I'm really hoping we can capture the same success we had back in 2018 – the feedback then was overwhelmingly positive and the idea of hosting a second festival has always been burning away in the background.

“These events give us masons and carvers a chance to come together, sharing our passion for the craft. Carving and banker masonry can be a solitary task at times, so these gatherings are a chance to connect with peers and contemporaries. Unlike the usual straight lines of our day-to-day work, the festival lets everyone go in whatever creative direction they fancy.

“And, of course, the auction on the Bank Holiday Monday at the conclusion of the event of the works produced adds excitement for visitors, giving everyone the opportunity to own a unique piece of art crafted by some of the best stone carvers in the country at a fraction of their true worth.” The charity auction of the 16 works produced at the 2018 festival raised more than £6,000. The charity being supported this time is Young Lives vs Cancer.

Visitors to the event could also take home one of Paul Roddan’s stone carvings which will be the prize in a competition for visitors during the Festival.

For the stone masons and carvers taking part there will be three prizes: one chosen as the best piece by the competitors themselves; one judged by the organisers; and one judged by the general public who visit the event.

Any mason or carver who would like to take part should contact Paul Roddan. There is an entry fee of £60 per person. If anyone else is willing to help out, there's plenty to do in keeping the masses happy during the event – such as manning the have-a-go stand, demonstrating a different craft, giving talks, or anything else that will interest the public visiting the event. 

To find out more, visit: https://www.wellsstonecarvingfestival.co.uk/ or email Paul Roddan to register: stonecarvingfest@gmail.com

A number of British craftsmen working with stone will be involved in the inaugural Great Australian Stone Festival founded and hosted by Stone of Arc. The event which takes place in March in Wellington, New South Wales is the first traditional stone festival in the country and is the brainchild of professional waller, Emma Knowles who founded Stone of Arc in 2017.

Emma, who grew up in Yorkshire emigrated to Australia and it was there she discovered a love of dry stone walls. In fact, she is now one of only six Dry Stone Walling Association UK Advanced level female dry stone wallers in the world. In 2022, Emma joined forces with Jack McCallum a carver and waller from Yorkshire.

The festival will take place over 12 days and teams will work together constructing, instructing, sharing and socialising. Central to the festival will be the professional wallers, masons and carvers from the UK including:

• Alan Rhodes – master waller 
• Peter Isherwood, master waller
• David Griffiths – master waller and designer
• Ryan Johnson James – sculptor and carver
• Simon Lumb – waller and carver
• Jack McCallum – waller and carver 

Master waller Geoff Duggan and carver Ken Hutchinson from Australia will also join the crew.

The event will showcase traditional dry stone walling, carving and stonemasonry. Professionals and hobbyists alike will get the opportunity to work alongside the professional dry stone wallers, carvers and stonemasons in attendance, using ancient skills to construct unique dry stone sculptures that tell ancient stories of the land, all led by the Wiradjuri community.

There'll also be walling and carving competitions, and for the first time in Australia, several opportunities for aspiring and competent wallers to be examined at all four levels of the Dry Stone Walling Association (DSWA) Craftsman Certification Scheme as well as undertake professional training leading to employment.

To find it more visit: https://stoneofarc.com/events/international-stone-festival/

A new Mercers’ Maiden stone sculpture for The Mercers' Company in Frederick’s Place, London has recently been unveiled. Created by stone carver Emma Sheridan, a QEST RW Armstrong Scholar – the piece was commissioned in her final year project during her BA in Historic Carving: Architectural Stone at City & Guilds of London Art School. 

The Mercers' Company has been using the Mercers' Maiden as its emblem for hundreds of years reportedly since 1425, although the origins are unknown. 

"The project took the best part of a year - from working with an initial design on paper, to a clay maquette, to the carving in Portland stone. I feel very honoured to have been able to create this piece for the Mercers' Company that will become part of the fabric of the City of London", said Emma.

The longstanding historic links between the cities of York and New York have been renewed with a new ledger stone. Currently on its way to New York, the stone was designed by stonemason Richard Bossons, who was responsible for creating York Minster’s statue of Queen Elizabeth II. 

It goes without saying that the two cities have an unbreakable bond through the history of their names (New York was named in 1664) and in 1924, New York presented the city of York with a bronze plaque, which is currently housed in York Guildhall. The new ledger stone marks the centenary of this gift. 

The stone was unveiled by HRH Duke of Gloucester, Patron of the St George’s Society of New York, on 11 July last year, a date that also signified the formal affiliation of the Company of the Merchant Adventurers of the City of York and the St George’s Society of New York. On arrival in New York, the stone will be formally unveiled during a special evensong and civic reception at the Church of St Thomas in the city on 5 May. 

The Very Reverend Dominic Barrington, Dean of York, said: “York and New York have a deeply rooted history, and continue to remain connected in many ways, from education, business, and culture. We’re extremely excited that we’ve reached the next step in the programme of celebration marking the centenary of this historic moment as we look to further develop connections between the two cities. 

"It also comes at a time where work on our Centre of Excellence is well underway, a project that will establish the York Minster Precinct as a world class campus facility for heritage craft skills, so we’re delighted to be able to showcase the talent of our stonemasons and the scheme on an international scale through this gift."

Mark Aiston, 2nd Vice President of St. George’s Society of New York and owner of Aiston Fine Art Services, who is sponsoring the shipment of the stone and travelled to York especially to accompany the stone back to New York, added: “I am thrilled to be a part of such an important project for both the City of York and for New York City, particularly as it marks the 100th anniversary of a similar event for which the City of York was then the recipient. I hope many other visitors from York add this to their list of things to see in Manhattan too."

Read an exclusive interview with the team working on the Centre of Excellence project in the Spring issue of Stone Specialist out later this month.

A memorial celebrating the life of Sir Ernest Shackleton created by sculptor Will Davies will be dedicated by the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle at Westminster Abbey on 15 February. The stone will be located in the Abbey's south cloister, close to a memorial to pioneering sailors Captain James Cook, Sir Francis Chichester and Sir Francis Drake.

The memorial, created in Will's Hampshire studio, incorporates natural stone including Connemara marble and Kilkenny limestone to reflect Shackleton's Irish heritage. Born in Ireland in 1874, Shackleton moved to London as a boy and, at the age of 16, he joined the Merchant Navy, qualifying as a master mariner in 1898. Shackleton's first experience of the polar regions was as third officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery expedition of 1901–1904, from which he was sent home early on health grounds. In 1907, Shackleton returned to Antarctica, leading the Nimrod expedition. Within 97 miles of the South Pole, he decided to turn back as food supplies were low.

His most notable expedition was that of Endurance in 1914, where he hoped to achieve the first crossing of the White Continent from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. Although he was unsuccessful in reaching the destination, the survival of his crew highlighted his exceptional leadership.

During his career, Shackleton was awarded the Polar Medal, which is presented by the British monarch to recognise outstanding achievements in the field of the polar research; fourteen medals by other nations; and eighteen medals by geographical and learned societies. Shackleton is remembered as one of the key figures associated with the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He died in 1922 at the age of 47.

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle said: "Shackleton’s name conjures up a little bit of an old and familiar narrative about a great man with remarkable courage and resilience.  That is true, but it does not do justice to his achievement.  Shackleton was more than an explorer, he was a story teller.  A pioneer in photography and film and an inspiring speaker, he planted the idea and image of the Antarctic in our imaginations.  Shackleton helped persuade us towards a new excitement about science and a deeper reverence for the world in which we live.  This memorial will help sustain that legacy of wonder."

You can read more about the memorial and the work of Will Davies in the next issue of Stone Specialist – out later this month.