Biography
Early
life
I
was born in Royal Free Hospital, Islington 1965 and lived in The
Angel until moving to St. Luke's in 1968 within 1 Mile of St. Paul's
Cathedral, the dome of which could then be seen from my bedroom
window.
My
early education was at Moreland Street School, Finsbury where we were
often shown cine films of aproned craftsmen at work. Many of us had
dads, granddads or other relatives who worked locally in one craft or
another. I later attended Sir Philip Magnus comprehensive school.
As
children we were surrounded by craftsmen and tradesmen and we thought
it the norm; Wood turners and furniture leg makers in Haggerston,
Clock and watch makers in Clerkenwell, Glass engravers in Shoreditch,
Wood carvers in Islington, Stone Masons in Moorgate, Stained Glass
makers also in Shoreditch, Bell founders in Aldgate, Blacksmiths/
Farriers in Whitecross Street and many Tailors and Typesetters, many
of whom where happy for children to watch them work.
In
addition to being surrounded by these skilled people my Granddad
worked for the Ministry of Works (later the Department of the
Environment) at The Tower of London. All this lead to my growing
interest in Crafts, Architecture and History.
Career
In
the last 4 decades I have worked on all aspect of stone masonry and
at all levels. I have worked under, and learnt from, some very
experienced Masters and in turn instructed many trainees and been
apprentice master to 11 apprentices up to this point. I entered my
apprenticeship in the early 1980's with the City of London Company,
Ashby and Horner who could trace their origins back to Aldgate in the
1690's and attended Vauxhall College.
While
with Ashby and Horner I was involved in the working of the new Seven
Dial's Monument, Covent Garden. Upon finishing my apprenticeship and
becoming a journeyman, I cut my teeth on the restoration of Somerset
House designed by William Chambers, St Paul's Church, Covent Garden
and The Queen's House, Greenwich designed by Inigo Jones, St.
Martin's in the Field designed by James Gibbs and The Egyptian
Avenue, Highgate Cemetery. As I gained experience I had the
opportunity to work on the Sultan of Brunei's Palace in
Knightsbridge, Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, The Savoy Hotel,
The Strand, The Canadian Pacific Building, Cockspur Street and The
Aga Khan Palace at Newmarket overlooking the gallops. In the early
1990's I had advanced to foreman for J.Bysouth at Woburn Abbey and
was in charge of the dismantling and rebuilding of Chambers Bridge
and while working on the South Stable Block I was involved in the
Consolidation of Clunch trials carried out by John Ashurst and
published in the Practical Building Conservation
English
Heritage Technical Handbook Volume 1 Stone Masonry.
As
Master Mason I ran projects in and around Gloucestershire and
Oxfordshire including Heythrop House, Wheatley Park, The YMCA
Cheltenham and a variety of Regency Houses in Cheltenham. While
working at Stoneleigh Abbey in 1999 I supervised the masonry and
conservation packages of both phase I and phase II to their
successful completion. The work consisted of the conservation and
restoration of the 14th century Gate House, Garden Balustrade,
Charlesworthy Bridge and Victorian conservatory. Different degrees of
intervention were used for each of the works packages, recognising
the individual historic properties of each structure.
Whilst
working for a number of specialist conservation companies as a
freelance Master Mason and contracts manager in the early 2000's, I
ran projects such as the Conservation of the Piers Cloakroom and
Westminster Hall at The Palace of Westminster, Windsor Castle,
Lancing College Chapel and worked on the Great Court project at The
British Museum. Bertholey House was built by George Maddox a pupil of
John Soane. In the early 1900's it was razed to the ground over a
family dispute and stood completely ruined and with no front
elevation until 2000. I was asked to form and lead a small team of
craftsmen and with only two drawings and a few very early photographs
rebuild it to its former glory. To comply with the clients wishes all
replacement stone was worked onsite including entire front elevation
cornice, portico columns and Ionic capitals.
Over
the course of the last few years, I have personally worked with
E.G.M.M in a consultative capacity advising on conservation projects
and giving talks and demonstrations and still work at least 3 days a
week carving.
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