The 2011 Trainee Mason of the Year Jonathan Rayfield says it is 'a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment' that makes stonemasonry so enjoyable to him. "I enjoy crafting the stone and completing a job by hand that will be there for all to see for maybe the next one hundred years or more," he revealed. Read More
Stone Federation was represented at the Skillbuild final on 16th September held at the Leeds College of Building when Jane, the Chief Executive, presented the prizes to the stonemasonry winners. Congratulations are given to all those winners shown on the right. Mention should also be made of the other competitors who qualified to take part especially Michael McCaffrey who was the first finalist from Scotland. Read More
Price has become the most important factor for architects and local authorities when awarding contracts involving the use of natural stone, often at the expense of the quality of work. Read More
Stone Federation's StoneSafe campaign has been chosen by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to be one of only 3 projects in the country to be featured as a case study in their 'One Year On' report. Read More
As part of our programme to reach a wider audience, Stone Federation has joined Twitter - the latest social networking craze. Read More
Preserving our heritage inside museums poses a very different problem from preservation outside, where that heritage frequently has to face the elements. Inside the museum the restoration of marble and granite is probably less important than the preservation of the objects being cared for. Read More
"Quiet, unflappable and accommodating" is one description of Dennis Jones, who has been named 'Project Craftsman of the Year' in this year's Duke of Gloucester Awards competition, organised jointly by Stone Federation Great Britain and The Worshipful Company of Masons. Read More
Albion Stone supplied over 3m³ of Jordans Basebed and Jordans Whitbed in the form of treads risers, paving and memorial stones. Read More
Two apprentices from Historic Scotland's Stonemasonry Training facility, Elgin, have been crowned champions of the first Stonemasonry Apprentice Skills Competition, which was held at Glasgow's Metropolitan College on 24, 25 and 26th April. Kenny McCaffrey, 38, and Malcolm Hutcheon, 38, both adult apprentices, beat off competition from Edinburgh's Telford College and Glasgow Metropolitan College, as judges deemed the pillar they produced over the three day competition to be the best. Read More
As the trade association for the natural stone industry in the UK, Stone Federation has produced a Guide to Best Practice on the Cleaning of Internal and External Masonry Surfaces to set a recognised standard of best practice for the industry. This document outlines the benefits and gives guidance on stone cleaning. Read More
Historic Scotland gave Ingval Maxwell a splendid send off on the occasion of his retirement. Mr. Maxwell joined Historic Scotland's predecessor Department (MPBW) as an architect in 1969. He was appointed Director of TCRE in 1993 and initiated a wide variety of technical conservation research projects, including four studies on fire-related topics that have resulted in Technical Advice Note publications. Read More
On the 3rd June the new Green Guide for Specifications was made available from BRE. For the first time the Green Guide has been made available online and can be viewed at www.thegreenguide.org.uk . Read More
