Carving a Future: Training as a Cathedral Stonemason Apprentice

Meet Lucy Newlyn, a stonemason apprentice at Gloucester Cathedral, now beginning the second year of her Foundation Degree Apprenticeship in Applied Historic Building Conservation and Repair. Harrison McQueen recently caught up with Lucy to gain an insight into her journey into stonemasonry, learning a traditional craft, and helping to care for our historic buildings for generations to come.

What does it actually feel like the first time you take your tools to a piece of stone/timber/glass destined for a centuries-old cathedral?

The first cut into a piece of stone is always accompanied by apprehension, whether that stone is new and destined for the Cathedral, a practice piece, a fun little experiment, or historic fabric that needs to be removed. New stone is an expensive commodity which has taken billions of years to form, and the shape that will be created is the result of hours of painstaking work, planning and setting out. For me the real excitement comes from taking my tools to the existing fabric within the cathedral which needs to be removed due to failure. These are pieces of living history which expose parts of the cathedral potentially not seen for hundreds of years and give a real insight into historic working methods. 

Most people your age are pushed toward university degrees and laptop-based office jobs, so what made you choose heritage labour instead?

Having finished school amid the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020, I started a History degree in October of that year and quickly found that I could not sit still at a laptop in a room on my own every day. Although the course content was fascinating, after the first year I could not face more of the same and researched how to work in the historic environment whilst avoiding academics. The most obvious method was by working in a trade. Luckily, I lived only half an hour away from one of the four colleges in England which offers Stonemasonry. Working at Gloucester Cathedral has been perfect as I get to do vocational work while interacting with historic fabric and seeing firsthand the impact that heritage buildings have on the surrounding community and further afield.

Do you ever feel the weight of history or imposter syndrome knowing your work will be looked at by visitors for the next 400 years?

The weight of history and imposter syndrome comes less from future visitors seeing my work and more from current visitors and future craftspeople! We aim to make our work as historically accurate as possible and not just replace what is there. This can mean our recent works stand out in a way which may not be aesthetically pleasing to the current visitor. However, it means that future craftspeople should have a better idea of the original builders' intentions as this material will be in better condition to take measurements from. I suppose that the weight of history does accompany this because our hard work today dictates the work that will be done in the future and how well the Cathedral is preserved. There is method in our madness!

What is the dynamic like in the workshop between the young apprentices and the older master craftspeople who have been doing this for decades?

When undertaking new task, the senior masons are very good at teaching and knowing when to step back to let us apprentices gain more experience and confidence. Often, we are challenged with tasks we need to develop our skills in and are sometimes given jobs we believe to be above our capabilities. However, we are also colleagues who work as a team, bounce ideas off one another and discuss how best to approach work. Afterall, a large amount of masonry is problem solving and in heritage work no two scenarios are ever the same. So, while guidance is always available as a safety net, our ideas never go unheard.

Heritage crafts are on the Red List of endangered skills, so does it feel like you are actively rescuing a dying art form, or is it just a great career path for you?

While Stonemasonry itself is currently, according to the Heritage Crafts list, viable rather than endangered, I would argue that colleges and training centres such as Gloucester Cathedral are rescuing the traditional methods of working. Much of masonry now is done using power tools and CNC machines. Usage of these is a skill in itself, largely removed from the traditions of mallets, hammers, chisels or axes. While the principles of work are the same, being trained in traditional methods does feel like a small step in the rescuing of largely forgotten skills.

What is the most physically or mentally exhausting part of a typical day on the scaffolding or in the workshop?

Obviously, a day of hammering or lifting in the workshop or on site is exhausting - I'm still hoping that one day I'll get used to it... Otherwise, every day of working as a mason includes a lot of problem solving. Whether that's how to do a large lift safely, prop a piece of unstable fabric, an intricate detail or how to work around one another. This is both physically and mentally exhausting!

In a world where everything feels digital and disposable, what is the best part about building something completely permanent?

Working at an historic cathedral such as Gloucester Cathedral means that it doesn't feel as though we are 'building'. Rather, we conserve a permanent structure which has a comforting continuity. By working to conserve this, we are also helping to retain the cultural significance of the cathedral as a place of worship, tourist attraction, filming location and social meeting place. In doing our work by hand, there is none of the instant gratification which accompanies the current world and really emphasizes the longevity of the materials we use. Things take their time - and that is ok!

Interviewed by Harrison McQueen