What is a stonemason?

Stonemasonry is the trade of cutting, shaping and building stone - the craft behind the cathedral, the parish church, the bridge, the wall and the headstone. It runs from the rough squaring of a block to the finest carved capital, and it splits into recognised branches: the banker mason who works the stone at the bench, the fixer who sets it in the building, the carver who works ornament and figures, and the letter-cutter who cuts inscriptions. The archive has met the carving and lettering end of that trade, and this entry is honest about which end: I have watched stone cut and carved by hand, but the cathedral-scale building masonry is a part of the craft the archive has still to document.

The first distinction every mason draws is between the banker mason and the fixer mason. The banker mason works at the bench - the "banker" - cutting and shaping each stone to a drawing before it leaves the workshop, so it will fit exactly when it reaches the building. The fixer mason is the one who sets those finished stones in place, bedding and jointing them on the structure itself. Many masons do both over a career, but they are genuinely different skills, one of the workshop and one of the scaffold.

On top of that sit the specialist branches. The carver works sculpture, foliage and ornament; the letter-cutter cuts inscriptions (a craft with its own glossary entry); the fixer and the conservator repair and replace decayed stone on historic buildings. All are stonemasons; each is a deepening specialism within the one trade.

The banker is the mason’s bench. A putlog and course belong to the building; a template (or templet) is the profile a moulding is worked to. Stone is split and squared with the pitcher, roughed with the punch, worked down with the claw chisel, and finished with the bolster and flat chisels, all struck with a dummy mallet or a mash hammer. Dressing is the working of a face to a finish; banker work is the bench cutting; ashlar is finely squared masonry with thin joints, as against rubble walling.

A block is selected with its bed - the natural layering of the stone - reading the right way for where it will sit, because stone laid against its bed will eventually delaminate. The mason marks the shape from a template, then works it down in stages: splitting and squaring with the pitcher, roughing toward the line with the punch, refining with the claw, and finishing the face with flat chisels, checking constantly against straightedge and square. A moulded or carved piece is taken further, the profile or the form cut by eye and tool.

Like its lettering branch, much of it is subtractive and unforgiving: stone removed does not return. The skill is in reading the material, working to the line without overshooting, and - for the fixer - setting heavy, exact pieces so a wall or an arch stands true and sheds water for centuries. It is physical, dusty, patient work, and a cut carved well in good stone will outlast everyone who sees it made.

The archive has documented the carving and lettering side of the trade. Steve Roche is a letter cutter and stonemason; Lily Marsh is a stone sculptor working figures and form in the round. Through them the archive has seen stone cut, carved and lettered by hand - the bench end of the craft. The building and conservation side, the cathedral works and the fixer’s scaffold, is a part of stonemasonry the archive intends to document and has not yet; saying so is part of keeping the record honest.

Stonemasonry is in better health than many of the crafts in this glossary, for one structural reason: England has thousands of historic stone buildings, and they need continuous repair. The cathedral and conservation works keep banker masons, fixers and carvers in real, ongoing demand, and there are recognised training routes through colleges and apprenticeships. But the high-end carving and the deep conservation skills are still specialist and not abundant, and the supply of properly trained masons is a standing concern for the bodies that look after historic buildings.

It is learned by apprenticeship and college training together, built up over years at the banker. The archive’s Learn a Craft directory points to where masonry and stone carving are taught.

What is the difference between a banker mason and a fixer mason?
A banker mason works stone at the bench (the "banker"), cutting and shaping each block to a drawing before it leaves the workshop. A fixer mason sets the finished stones in place in the building. Many masons do both, but they are recognised as distinct skills.

Is stonemasonry the same as stone carving?
They overlap but are not identical. Stonemasonry covers the whole trade of cutting and building stone; stone carving is the sculptural branch that works figures, foliage and ornament, and letter-cutting is the branch that cuts inscriptions. A carver or letter-cutter is a specialist mason.

How do you become a stonemason?
By training and apprenticeship, often through a college course combined with workshop experience, and frequently on the cathedral and historic-building works that keep the craft in continuous demand. The skill is built up over years at the banker.