City of London master stonemason

Written for an American Blog, to be part of a series on European Craftspeople.

 

Stephen Critchley was born in the Royal Free Hospital, Islington, London in 1965 and in 1968 his family moved to St. Luke's, an area on the border of The City of London. His family have been part of the City's history since at least 1330 when Roger de Mortimer the son of his 29 times Great grandfather was hanged at Tyburn after being held in the Tower of London, on a happier note his 19 & 17 times great grandfathers Geoffrey Boleyn & Thomas Kytson were masters of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1454 & 1534 respectively with Geoffrey going on to be  Lord Mayor in 1457. His family have been freemen of many of the livery companies over the years, up to now when his father and uncle are both freemen through working for the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.

From 1946 to 1972 his grandfather George Critchley worked for the Ministry of works (later the Department of the Environment, then English Heritage) at the Tower of London, Stephen says it was visiting him at work and going for walks with him in the near deserted weekend street of the City that gave him an interest in architecture and sculpture.

He trained with Ashby and Horner who had their origins in 1690's Aldgate, a stones throw away from where, around 60 years later the Liberty Bell would be struck in 1752 at the Whitechapel bell foundry where they still produce and restore bells at their original premises to this day.

        

From top left to  bottom right, St. Bartholomew the Great, Raglan Castle, Heythrop House, Lancing College chapel

While with Ashby and Horner he was involved in the working of the new Seven Dial's Monument, Covent Garden. Upon finishing his apprenticeship and becoming a journeyman, Stephen cut his 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's designed by James Gibbs and The Egyptian Avenue, Highgate Cemetery. As he gained experience he 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's Palace at Newmarket overlooking the gallops.

In the early 1990's he 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 he 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.

Chambers Bridge, Woburn Abbey

As Master Mason he ran projects in and around Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire including Heythrop House, Wheatley Park, The YMCA Cheltenham , Painswick House and a variety of Regency Houses in Cheltenham and Bath.

While working at Stoneleigh Abbey in 1999 he 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.

13th Century Gtaehouse, Stoneleigh Abbey

Whilst working for a number of specialist conservation companies as a freelance Master Mason and contracts manager in the early 2000's, he ran projects such as the Conservation of the Peers 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. Stephen 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 on site, including the entire front elevation cornice, portico columns and Ionic capitals.

Bertholey House before and after

For the majority of his career Stephen has carried out specialist projects or produced particular pieces for larger contracts. Over a 32 year career he has worked on many projects 85 of which he considers notable.

96-8 - Roman Paving of Colonia Nervia Glevensium, Friends Meeting House, Gloucester

700 - Evesham Abbey, Warwickshire

1097 - Westminster Hall, London SW1

1100's - Windsor Castle, Berkshire

1123 - St. Bartholomew the Great, London

1340 - St John the Baptist Church, Kingscote, Gloucestershire

1346 - Stoneleigh Abbey Gate House, Warwickshire

1360 - St Mary the Virgin Hawkesbury Upton, Gloucestershire

1377- St Clements church, Hastings, Sussex

1400's - Raglan Castle, Monmouthshire

1440's - Sudeley Castle, Gloucestershire

1610's - Audley End House, Essex

1616 - Dulwich burial ground, London

1617 - Queen's House, Greenwich, Inigo Jones

1626 - York watergate, London, WC2, Sir Balthasar Gerbier

1633 - St Paul's Covent Garden, London, WC2, Inigo Jones

1670 - St Edmund, King and Martyr, City of London, Christopher Wren

1677 - St Peter upon Cornhill, City of London, Christopher Wren

1690 - Heythrop Foley, Oxfordshire

1700's - Stoneleigh balustrade, Warwickshire

1706 - Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire,Thomas Archer

1712 - Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich, Christopher Wren & Nicholas Hawkesmoor

1716 – St. Mary Woolnoth, Nicholas Hawksmoor

1726 - St Martins in The fields,St. Martin's Lane, London WC2, James Gibbs

1730's - Painswick House, Gloucestershire

1730's - Southam Manor, Gloucestershire

1733 – St. Luke's Church, London, EC1, John James & Nicholas Hawksmoor

1744 - Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, Henry Flitcroft & Henry Holland

1750 - Woburn Abbey South Stable Block, Bedfordshire, Henry Flitcroft,

1750's – South Audley Street, london, W1

1770 - Stoneleigh Abbey Conservatory, Warwickshire

1790's - Prestbury Table Top Tombs, Gloucestershire

1804 - Russell Square, London, WC2

1810 - Dulwich Picture Gallery, Sir John Soane

1813 - Tobacco Dock, London, E1

1814 - Charlesworthy Bridge, John Rennie

1815 - Wheatley Park School, Oxfordshire

1819 - Somerset House, William Chambers

1820's - Chambers Bridge, William Chambers

1824 - YMCA, Cheltenham;

1830 - St. Philips and St. James’s parish Church, Cheltenham  

1836 - Pittville Lawn, Cheltenham

1839 - Highgate Cemetery chapel and Egyptian Avenue, London, N6

1840 - Bertholey House, Llantrisant, South Wales,George Maddox pupil of Soane

1840 - Nelson Museum, Monmouth, South Wales

1840's – Dover light house, Kent

1844 - Usk Prison, South Wales

1847- Palace of Westminster, Piers Cloak room, Charles Barry & Augustus Pugin

1848 - Palm House, Royal Botanical Gardens,  Kew, Decimus Burton

1850 - Suffolk Square, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

1855 - Public Records Office, Sir James Pennethorne

1862 - Cornhall, Cirencester

1865 - Old Lloyds Building, Billiter Street, London

1879 - Bristol Grammar School, Bristol

1886 - Cadogan Square, Harold Ainsworth Peto & Sir Ernest George

1887 - All Saints Church, Gloucester, George Gilbert Scott

1889 - Savoy Hotel, London

1894 - Sir Francis of Assisi, Wormwood Scrubs, Anglican Chapel, London W12

1895 - King Edward's Buildings, St. Martin Le Grand , London, EC2, Sir Henry Tanner

1900 - Empire Hotel, Bath

1909 - Victoria & Albert museum , Aston Webb

1909 - Selfridges store, Oxford Street, London, W1

1910 - Durban City Hall, South Africa,

1911 - Whiteleys store, John Belcher & John James Joass

1911 - Lancing College chapel, R H Carpenter & William Slater

1920's - Prestbury Campanile, Gloucestershire

1920's - Lewisham War Grave

1920's - Kensal Green War Grave

1920's - Coleford War Memorial, Gloucestershire

1925 - Adelaide House, London Bridge, EC4;

1936 - Church House, Westminster, SW1, Sir Herbert Baker &  A T Scott

1948 - Polish War Memorial, Northolt

1953 - Runnymede Memorial

1960 - Carlton Towers Hotel, Sloane Street, London;

1987 - Garden House, Henley upon Thames

1987 - Rutland Gate, Kensington

1987 - Royal Court, Sloane Street

1988 - Richmond House, Whitehall, London, SW1

1988 - Carnaby Street, Roof Garden;

1989 - Seven Dials monument, London, WC2

1989 - Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square

1991 - Elle, Wigmore Street

1992 - Aga Khans Palace, Newmarket;

1996 - Garden House, Henley Upon Thames;

2000 - The Great Court, British Museum

Years of working so closely with such high quality design and craftsmanship has lead to Stephen gaining a deep understanding of the design of this period and he is now one of very few craftsmen worldwide who still works with the techniques and visual proportions used at the time, many of which, closely linked in the Baroque with the explosion of baroque music through harmonicproportion.

Over the past 10 years Stephen has worked at the head of a select team of craftspeople hand carving marble and stone fire surround, ornament and statuary for high end design and heritage projects. Although his team work with all design and architectural periods his own speciality is the carving from English Palladianism through Baroque to Neoclassicism.  He supplies items worldwide to dealers, architects, designers, developers, galleries and the public, with his main markets outside the UK being the USA and Asia.

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Selection of carved pieces from our workshop

Stephen travels to continental Europe several times a year to choose his own marble direct from quarries in Italy, France and Spain so as to get the best quality and freshest marbles. Marble when first quarried is full of moisture drawn directly from the bed rock known as quarry sap, as this moisture dries the marble becomes harder and more brittle and less receptive to intricate carving.

Web site

Selecting Marble

Our clients have come to expect  a high standard of marble carving from us and the only way we can achieve the highest quality and crispness is to get the marble at exactly the right length of time it has been out of the ground and work it before it dries and a calcareous layer is formed. This drying process is essential for exterior pieces especially in cold climates and for such pieces we allow them to dry before going out to the client.

When bought from UK suppliers or just ordering on the phone we can get marble that has possibly been quarried years ago, this is fine for flooring, cladding, table tops etc. but not for intricate carving, the longer the marble is out of the ground the more brittle it becomes as the natural moisture drawn up from the bed rock, what we call quarry sap, dries. When choosing limestone, sandstone and slate the need for really fresh material is virtually unimportant in most cases.

I make at least 4 visits a year to France Italy and Spain to purchase the marble for our more intricate pieces, going to the quarry to choose the marble in block form, then depending on block size either we cut the block down our self or if over 2 metres high we have the block cut down by the quarry.
When choosing I am looking for blocks with no flaws, a close grain and the correct hardness, colour and /or veining for the projects I have in mind.
Although obviously travelling around the continent is an enjoyable experience there is always the nagging fear that the blocks chosen are not suitable and this is only proven one way or other when the block is cut, possibly a month after being purchased. Thanks the bitter experience of making wrong choices in my younger days we are now as successful as can be expected when choosing a  natural material formed under intense heat and pressure over huge stretches of time.
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Luxury items hand carved by a City of London master stonemason

My team of craftspeople and I hand carve marble, limestone, sandstone and slate fire surrounds, architectural dressed stone, garden & interior ornament and statuary in our two workshops in the UK, producing pieces for the heritage and design sectors through architcets, designers and direct to the public.

Although our 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 the piece we are working from are 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.

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

http://sjcritchley.com

Neo Palladian, Baroque & Neo Classical Craftsmanship

Neo Palladian, Baroque & Neo Classical Craftsmanship      

Over a 32 year career  master stonemason Stephen Critchley has worked on all types of architectural and design projects, but having been brought up in an area which has such a wealth of Neo Palladian and Neo Classical architecture, as well as the finest collection of Baroque architecture outside Rome, his particular interest became the period between the 1620′s – 1830′s. Added to this he was trained by a City of London company whose origins date back to 1690′s Aldgate and he happened to start his career at a time when many of these wonderful buildings were being restored and conserved for the first time for many decades.

This is a detail of a coat of arms Stephen carved in a Baroque style.

 

This period, so rich in all the arts that flourished in England after Charles I’s trip to Spain in 1623 and architecturally given a boost by the destruction caused by the Great Fire of London in 1666 was the one Stephen chose to follow were ever possible. To learn as much about this field as he could Stephen travelled extensively searching out the few remaining masters of these styles in his early years, soaking up ever piece of knowledge. Skills ranging from choosing the best marble and limestone from quarries in Italy, France and Spain , geometric and visual techniques and classic hand tool skills peculiar to the highly decorated Baroque.
He has had the good fortune to have trained on and later produced work for many of the jewels of English architecture from this period and Stephen is now recognised as one of the top craftsmen working on the period from English Palladianism through Baroque to Neo Classicism in the field of architectural sculpture and stone masonry.
His experience in this field is unrivalled having over the years worked on and produced work for all for the following projects, as well as many others.

Dates	Building	Architect / Designer
1617	Queen’s House, Greenwich	Inigo Jones
1626	York Watergate, Thames Embankment	Sir Balthasar Gerbier
1633	St Paul’s church, Covent Garden	Inigo Jones
1670	St Edmund, King and Martyr	Sir Christopher Wren
1677	St Peter upon Cornhill	Sir Christopher Wren
1690	Heythrop Foley
1700′s	Stoneleigh balustrade
1706	Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire	Thomas Archer
1712	Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich	Sir Christopher Wren & Nicholas Hawksmoor
1716	St Mary Woolnoth	Nicholas Hawksmoor
1726	St Martin in The fields	James Gibbs
1730′s	Painswick House, Gloucestershire
1730′s	Southam Manor, Gloucestershire
1733	St. Luke’s church, London	John James & Nicholas Hawksmoor
1744	Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire	Henry Flitcroft & Henry Holland
1750	Woburn Abbey South Stable Block	Henry Flitcroft
1770	Stoneleigh Abbey Conservatory
1804	Russell Square, London, WC1
1810	Dulwich Picture Gallery	Sir John Soane
1813	Tobacco Dock, London, E1
1814	Charlesworthy Bridge, Stoneleigh	John Rennie
1815	Wheatley Park School, Oxfordshire
1819	Somerset House, London, WC2	Sir William Chambers
1820′s	Chambers Bridge, Woburn Abbey	Sir William Chambers

Years of working so closely with such high quality design and craftsmanship has lead to Stephen gaining a deep understanding of the design of this period and he is now one of very few craftsmen worldwide who still works with the techniques and visual proportions used at the time, many of which, closely linked in the Baroque with the explosion of baroque music through harmonic proportion.

Heythrop House by  Thomas Archer
 

On top of still working with the heritage left to us from this age, a great deal of Stephens work involves producing new carved stone and marble ornament, fire surrounds, statuary, funtains and heraldic carving in the style of and to the same standards as the original master craftsmen. He still hand carves each piece using the same tools and techniques used in the 16^th and 17^th Century. He believes hand carving is not a gimmick, but the best way to produce one off pieces of the highest quality when using natural materials to produce Bas, Mezzo and Alto relief as well as pieces in the round.
Over the last few years he has found an appreciation from a whole new range of clients. Where he used to supply mainly those with period properties, he now receives many commissions from people, for even the most highly decorated pieces to be set as a juxtaposition to modern design.
        

A selection of Stephen’s fire surrounds

As well as keeping this part of his craft alive himself Stephen also takes on 1 apprentice every 2 years to pass on his skills which were on the  edge of disappearing only 30 years ago. These places are highly sought after, the training he gives is an extensive 5 year course as he believes in training the master crafts people of the future.
http://sjcritchley.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXgLQq_-r5M

Our Unique Selling Points

Recently while putting together a quotation for a client in the USA jointly with a London designer I was asked, what were my USP's. After asking isn't that something you plug into a laptop I was told it stood for Unique Selling Point and was necessary for the package being put together because obviously our USP's become a large part of those of the whole team including the designers.

We are a specialist high quality company and here are our

10 main Unique Selling Points.

1/ Bespoke service - We make all our pieces to exactly the size the client requires, as everything is made to order and does not come off the shelf, this bespoke service does not add time to the project.

2/ Hand carved in UK - Everything we supply is hand produced in the UK in either our Cotswold or East Anglian workshop. We do not use cheap labour or anything made in sweat shops.

Pictures above show the Laurel cushions being worked for the fire surround at the foot of this blog.

3/ Materials - We use only the best quality materials, never using lower quality to drive up our profits. We use limestone and sandstone from the UK and France; Slate from Wales and England and marble from Italy, France and Greece. The materials we use are those used by the likes of Michelangelo and Henry Moore and in the building of St. Paul's Cathedral; The Parthenon; The Doges Palace, Venice; The Palace Versailles and many others. Due to the continuity of the quarries we use we know the quality of the material and exactly how they will perform.

4/ Ocular rectification - Where enough information is given by the client we use ocular rectification when designing our fire surrounds etc. This allows for the direction natural light falls on the piece, from what direction it is mainly approached when and the size of the room it is to be fitted in etc. These are the same techniques used when producing the classic antique fire surrounds we now so admire.

5/ Design & drawing service - We can help with the design and proportions of your piece providing drawings for the clients approval before work commences.

6/ Training - Myself and my team are all fully trained, I myself was trained by a city of London company over 32 years ago and was lucky to have a connected training meaning my apprentice master started his training in 1946, his master 1920's, his in 1890's and so on. This is the sort of training teaches the tricks and techniques found in a practical craft  not often found in books.

7/Training the next generation - Most companies do not put any thing back into training the next generation of stone masons. There are companies the employ 100 + and have no apprentices, we are a small skilled team of craftspeople and take a new apprentice at least every 2 years, which means we always have 2 or 3, this is a full apprenticeship and although the recognised training today is for much less we have our apprentices for 5 year as we aim to produce the master craftspeople of the future.

8/ Experience- Myself and my team have a vast experience in our field. Between us we have produced work for: The Palace of Westminster; Woburn Abbey; Stoneleigh Abbey; Somerset House; Buckingham Palace; Windsor Castle; Raglan Castle; Queen's House; Greenwich; St. Paul's Covent Garden; St. Martin's in the Field; Great Palm House, Kew; Heythrop House; Gloucester Cathedral; The British Museum; Dulwich Picture Gallery; Victoria & Albert museum; Chamber's Bridge; Wheatly Park; Charlesworthy Bridge; The Circle of Lebanon, Highgate and many Government and public buildings.

And for: The Aga Khan, The Sultan of Brunei, The Duke of Bedford, 2nd Baron Dickinson of Painswick, Lord and Lady Bamford, George Michael, Roger Dawtrey, and many others corporate and private clients.

9/ Web cam service - We offer a web cam service to allow the client to discuss their project with the craftsman whilst on the bench in real time. Also with all fire surrounds we provide a 3 minute film on a memory card of your actual fire surround being worked.

10/ Reproduction – We can exactly copy a fire surround or ornament of your choice whether it be an antique or contemporary piece, we are able to work from a photograph or a sketch .

http://sjcritchley.com

Luxury Design and Quality for All

Most of us assume that to commission a hand carved marble or stone fire surround, ornament or piece of statuary an over expensive and exclusive purchase. So when it comes to buying a fire surround or garden ornament we often look to the high street rather than approach one of our countries master craftsmen.

Today I am visiting Stephen Critchley one such craftsman, a master stonemason with the experience to make sure your purchase is as individual to you as the finest antique pieces now out of the reach of most was to it's original owner.

Stephen was trained by a City of London company and gained experience over a 30+ year career carving stone and marble for many of the south of England's most prestigious and historically important buildings including stately homes, Palaces and churches. Having worked at the top of the heritage and luxury design sectors for so long his list of past clients reads like a who's who of European and Asian Royalty and aristocracy with a good measure of other wealthy patrons thrown in.

Upon being asked to provide some modest fire surrounds in 2008 for a client who was unhappy with the quality he was receiving from his supplier, he says “I was totally shocked by the difference in quality between what we were producing and what the general public were being expected to accept.” Stephen decided at this time to use his and his teams experience and skill to offer top design and quality to all price ranges. As master stone mason Stephen works at the head of a small specialist team of craftspeople all of whom he has trained personally.

Stephen explains the market place is a wash with machine made items produced to the same couple of dozen designs in  poor quality marbles and limestones. “There are a hand full of large companies in China churning our marble and stone ornament and through aggressive advertising they are stocking the vast majority of suppliers from the high street fireplace shop to the most expensive boutique London dealers.”

I watch him carving an acanthus motif on a piece of yellow Italian marble, while he explains “When we make a bespoke fire surround for a client we are making a piece to fit the actual room it's going into using ratios, proportional and visual techniques passed down through the master craftsman to his student. We are using the same visual tricks described by Vitruvious and used by Palladio and closer to home by Wren and Hawkesmoor.”

I think most will be pleasantly surprised by the cost of a bespoke service and the quality compared to the majority of new ornamentation and most antique pieces speaks for its self. Stephen tells me “People have the idea old is best but many of the antique fire surrounds being sold at present were never top quality in the first place but produced on the equivalent of a production line for the streets of houses springing up in the 18th and 19th century to accommodate the growing city populations. Remember in those day most fireplaces were made not a luxury item but a necessity.”

While Stephen continues to show me around his workshop he tells me how he sees the great resource of British crafts people being under used by designers and architects alike. “As in the past the designs we can produce are limitless taking note of classical designs or working with modern day designers.” With the staff on a break peace falls over the workshop and I get a chance to see the work in progress, I see plain contemporary and highly decorated Regency fire surrounds, a garden urn with goat head handles, a futuristic urn made from layers of stone and bubbly green glass, a coat of arms, two marble columns and a selection of windows and pieces of moulded architectural stone all in differing stages completion.

Just before leaving I ask Stephen how he stays so enthusiastic about his craft. “I am proud of the work we produce but proudest to be training new crafts people and helping to keep a quality craft and industry in this country.”

http://sjcritchley.com

(Article for South East Design Blog)

Bring the quality of British craftsmanship from the heritage sector and high end design to all price ranges.

I am passionate about getting people to buy hand carved pieces produced by experienced craftsmen rather than those mass produced, machine made, items as sold by the industry leaders.

The business model the majority use seems to me to be out of date and from a time when less interest was taken in environmental issues and the cultural importance of real craftsmanship to society was not recognised. It is definitely not what my clients expect from me these days.

Through displays and talks etc. I am working to dispel the myth that we do not have world class craftsmen in the UK. Though our sales in the US, Europe & Asia and the feed back we receive we know of the high esteem with which British craftsmanship in general is held, it seems the only people we need to convince are the British themselves.

Reasons to buy craftsman made hand carved ornament.

Higher quality at no extra cost:

Why would you buy a piece that is exactly the same as everyone else has when you can commission a custom made item, hand carved by craftsmen who are also producing work for palaces, stately homes and high end design projects across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world? There is actually little or no extra cost. People assume hand carved is considerably more expensive than machine made. For individual bespoke pieces this is not the case, there is no need for machine set up for hand carved items and you are not paying for the item to be shipped half way around the world.

Highest quality materials:

As our reputation is based on the quality of our work we use only the best materials available. We use limestones and sandstones from the UK and France, some having been used since the time of the Roman Empire. We also use Welsh and Cumbrian slate and marble from the UK, France, Italy and Greece. Often the same materials used by the ancient and renaissance masters.

Give a face to the craftsman:

We offer a service where the client, at an arranged time can talk directly to the craftsman with their piece on the bench in front of them via web cam. Yes the actual craftsman, not an extra brought in from the office or warehouse for the occasion. This takes advantage of the years of expertise and knowledge gained by the craftsmen regarding material, proportion, and visual tricks such as ocular rectification. We also supply a short 3 minute film for all our projects of the piece being worked free of charge upon delivery.

Quicker turn around for bespoke pieces:

We are approached regularly by clients who have been quoted 12 weeks for the most minor of adjustments from the industry leaders. For all but the most intricate piece we aim for a turn around of 28 days or less for their bespoke item.

Lower carbon foot print:

We hear a lot about peoples concerns regarding carbon foot print and the distance products travel but the large majority of off the shelf fire surround in the UK are travelling over 10, 000 kilometres or 6,000 miles to get to you, if you have paid more and get the real material you can double those distances as the stone has to get from Europe to their workshops in the first place. By using the acknowledged best quality limestones and sandstones, we source from quarries lest than 250km or 150 miles away and for the best marbles in the world the furthest they should come is 1,500 km or 900 miles.

Support for UK jobs and training.

By purchasing quality bespoke items produced by trained craftsmen in the UK you are supporting a traditional industry and quality skilled jobs, also allowing us to train more people thus building a healthy human crafts resource for now and the future.

And last but not least

We know from conversations with our existing clients how being able to provide such a bespoke service for their customers gives them a priceless advantage over many of their competitors and is complimentary to the quality services they already offer.

http://sjcritchley.com

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