Gloucester Cathedral apprentice stonemason aims to make history accessible

BBC News

13-02-2025

A 23-year-old has said she wanted to become a cathedral stonemason in order to make history "more accessible to everyone".Apprentice, Lucy Newlyn, is training with senior stonemasons at Gloucester Cathedral, working on projects that will be viewed by the public for years to come.Gloucester Cathedral is among a handful of cathedrals in the UK to offer apprenticeship schemes to ensure skills are passed on to the next generation.Ms Newlyn said: "It's very nice that, even on a superficial level, you come in and see what you do at the beginning of the day and at the end."
Cathedral stonemasons have looked after the Grade I listed building since 1089, preserving aspects of it to maintain its condition and adding intricate designs to the famous structure.Ms Newlyn said she had wanted to "do something with her hands" after studying history at university through online lessons during the coronavirus pandemic."I was teaching myself everything. I wanted to go out and do something that could impact the wider community."
She added: "It is about trying to preserve historic buildings but it's making that history more accessible to everyone."With places like Gloucester Cathedral with such a rich history, I can't believe this began hundreds of years ago. How on earth did that happen?"She said there were not as many women as there are men in stonemasonry, but added that it is "not as daunting as it first may seem".
Paul Synan, senior stonemason, trains the apprentices and the current project involves working on the design of a merlon which will sit on the parapet at the cathedral's north nave.They will also be adding to the 14th Century cloisters famously used in the first two Harry Potter films - The Philosopher's Stone and the Chamber of Secrets."It's not even a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's a once in a generation opportunity to work on this cloister," Mr Synan said."It's a really big deal. It's the gem of Gloucester Cathedral and maybe cathedrals in the UK."The cloisters are particularly significant as the oldest surviving example of fan vaulting in the world. As far as we know it was started in Gloucester."