A Short Course in Operative Masonry

The culmination of a great weekend at Tout Quarry on Portland! On the right is the Master of St George Abadan Lodge No 6058 W.Bro. Robyn Murdo-Smith to his right are W.Brothers: Roy Coenye DC, Alan Campkin Secretary, David Hiscock Treasurer and Shawn Roberts ADC.  Next is Stone Carving instructor Paul Crabtree MA and Professor Dame Jane Francis who has mapped the Fossil History of Portland since 250 million years ago when Portland Bill was located at the Equator and has been migrating North ever since.

St George Abadan Lodge originated a long way away in Iran formed by BP Oil Workers. Robyn is presenting the proceeds of the Lodge’s fine box which was busy over the weekend (£120) to Hannah Sofaer MA the Creative Director of learrningstone.org. Over the weekend these Speculative Masons learned the Operative Mason Skills to make their own Rough Ashlars (an example under Hannah’s forearm) in the very same place where Sir Christopher Wren sourced stone for St Paul’s Cathedral.

Robyn Murdo-Smith said ‘Before we were allowed anywhere near the tools we had instruction from Stone Carving Instructor Paul Crabtree.  He introduced us to the working tools and explained their use whilst demonstrating the first process which is curiously known as ‘Boning-In’.  Originally the small cubes were made of Ivory hence whilst they are now made of wood they are still known as bones. Basically you wedge up your lump of virgin stone and chisel little platforms at each corner onto which you put the cubes then laying the straight edges across the bones you can eye in how much more stone to cut out until the straight edges are all level.  Then you chisel away the remaining proud stone.  Then you have a flat surface from which to create square sides.’

Here we see the more experienced hands of Stone Carving Instructor Paul Crabtree teaching the St George Abadan ‘Apprentices’ the ancient art of ‘boning in’ which means producing an ashlar with a flat base and square sides.