My work encompasses all architectural and design types

My work encompasses all architectural and design types including Gothic, Edwardian, Victorian, contemporary and modern, I am especially experienced in the period from the English Renaissance through English Baroque to Regency sometimes in design circles loosely named the English country house style.

In addition to training with a City of London company whose origins date back to 1690's Aldgate, I have over 30 years experience working in and around The City of London, also working extensively in Georgian Bath and Cheltenham Spa.

I gained experience and expertise whilst conserving and carving new architectural stone and interior pieces for some of the great palaces, stately homes, country house and churches in Britain, such as Queen's House Greenwich, Woburn Abbey, Somerset House, St. Martin's in the Fields, St. Paul's Covent Garden, and Heythrop House.

This gave me an insight and a greater understanding when interpreting and carving fire surrounds and ornamentation from designs by the likes of Inigo Jones, James Gibbs, William Chambers, Henry Flitcroft and from the contemporary pattern books by Batty Langley and William Halfpenny.

More recently, as well as the minimal contemporary ornament we have been making for interior designers for town houses and apartments we have been producing many more classically inspired pieces used as a juxtaposition to the decoration in a modern setting . Fire surrounds, urns and pedestals, finials, columns, water features, panels, busts and statuary are all regularly produced.

A large proportion of our design work involves carving fire surrounds to the design of an antique piece for architects and designers, the advantage of this for the client is, the antique although beautiful was made to suit a specific space, as such much of the design and thinking that went in to the piece is now lost when placed in a new setting.

 A new piece of the same quality and in many cases exactly the same material as the original can be produced allowing for the proportional changes to its surroundings and for ocular rectification to allow for light fall etc.

These pieces are by no means just copies, they are new original pieces in the same way as the piece we are working from is an original in the style of a classical design or which ever style it may be. There is no need make do when it comes to dimension or material.

Although all our fireplaces and ornamentation are still hand carved using techniques, tools and materials virtually unchanged since the 17th century, we do use technology to give a better service to the client. For example via web cam my clients can see their item on the bench in one of our UK workshops and talk to us in real time to discuss materials, design dimensions etc.

I supply items worldwide to dealers, architects, designers, developers, galleries and the public, with my main markets outside the UK being the USA and Asia.

http://sjcritchley.com