'You start from flat surfaces, and they get progressively smaller' Photograph: Sam Frost
How to cut stone
Stonemasonry is both art and a patient craft – but sooner or later you have to commit and free the shape with a chisel
The craft of cutting and dressing stone is about as old as civilisation; a Roman stonemason would have little to learn from his 21st-century British counterpart. That's if he could find one: with the advent of other, simpler building materials, stonemasonry has been in freefall for over a century already, and these days – despite having more than 6m pre-first world war buildings to maintain – this country suffers from a chronic shortage of skilled masons.
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