Bespoke Work Archives ~ Architectural Paving & Stone

Saddle Stones

Buxton Stone Admin Team — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:00:51 +0000

Saddle Stone Commission

We were set a recent challenge by Paul, from Four Oaks Reclamation, to make a couple of saddle stones. They have high end reclaimation items that can be used, as is now the fashion, for decorative outside ornamental features; but they cannot obtain saddle stones! So they asked us to make a pair to try out in their yard and see if there is a demand for them.

Originally, these were used as feet/legs for grain stores; which were small enclosures raised off the ground to help prevent rodents eating the grain. They had a leg and overall, looked like a mushroom. We were asked to make the ‘tops’ or the saddle part.

These stones are made from Stanton Moor Sandstone, they were moulded on our CNC machine and each one weights – 90kg. Not a light garden ornament at all!

Below is an image of how a traditional grain store (this type of storage dates back to the 17th Century) would look raised on saddle stones.

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Ashbourne Shrovetide Football Stand – Behind The Scenes

Team Support — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 10:48:38 +0000

Ashbourne Shrovetide Football Event New Stone Turn Up Platform – Behind The Scenes

We started working on the Shrovetide project in the beginning of Autumn last year with the build team and the Shrovetide committee, it had been agreed the stand was to be built in local sandstone and its unique circular design meant only a specialist stone yard such as ours with CNC cutting facilities could take on this project.

It has probably taken many hours in production overall and consists or Radius Ashlar, Radius Copings and radius Steps with Bullnose edging both Internal and External so a complex design.

The build team have liaised on a daily basis with us here to tweak sizes on pieces where has been necessary, it has been beneficial this project is so close in proximity to us here as there has been more tweaking towards the end of the build as the steps proved more challenging to develop that sections of the Ashlar itself.

The stonemasons went to site last week to complete the inscription ASHBOURNE ROYAL SHROVETIDE FOOTBALL which completes the new stand is is truly impressive to say the least and will be there for centuries to come.

Over the pre Christmas free and New Year freeze, we couldn’t go much work, so that meant the project was further delayed – adding to the pressure of getting it completed on time.

After much hard work but everyone involved, looming deadlines and last minute adjustments; the monument was completed and ready. You can read about it HERE.

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Ashbourne Shrovetide Football Stand

Team Support — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 14:33:56 +0000

Ashbourne Shrovetide Football Event New Stone Turn Up Platform

On Shrove Tuesday at 2pm, the oldest game of football will commence, with the ‘turn up’ of the Shrovetide Ball. This year in Ashbourne, on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd of February 2023, a multitude of people will gather to participate and watch, the Royal Shrovetide Football event. Played over the 2 days and 8 hours a day, it is both notorious, newsworthy and known across the world.

Until last year the ‘turn up’ – where the ball is thrown from the starting place to begin the game – took place on a small red brick plinth on Shaw Croft car park in Ashbourne town centre. However the Royal Shrovetide Committee decided to commission a new platform, to replace the plinth, from which to ‘turn up’ takes place and return it to the centre of the carpark as it had been historically positioned.

We were commissioned to supply a suitable sized stone.

Scott Marsden, from Buxton Architectural Stone said, “We are honoured to have been commissioned to supply the radius natural stone ashlar, copings & steps for this project which required expertise in order to cut the accurate measurements required for this project. Our specialised skills and experience allows us to create and develop bespoke projects such as these along side the team of builders and we have been able to adapt the dimensions on a daily basis to help make the build of this unique piece come together within millimetre’s of accuracy. We are also able to supply our recommended stonemasons to give the professional personal finishing inscriptions. Some of our team will be coming down for the ‘turn up’ and seeing everyone take part in this wonderful local historical event.”

The impressive structure has a large circular rounded tall front, which resembles a regal balcony. From the rear there is a set of steps taking the turner up (the person who does the ‘turn up’ into the ‘hug’) rises above the gathered players and has an imposing platform from which to commence proceedings!

So this year the Up’ards and Down’ards will have a brand new platform to stand proudly in front of and receive the ball as it is thrown to start the game. After the ball is thrown up into the ‘hug’, the teams try to grab the ball and move it towards their goal. Due to the amount of people taking part, it tends to look like a wild rugby scrum with those taking part using the weight and advantage of people in their team, to force the ball towards through the crowd and to the goal! The highlight of each day is the scoring of the goals which in turn brings glory to families whose loved one’s have been lucky enough to score a goal.

If you want to see behind the scenes and read more about how the project came about; visit our page HERE (coming soon). You may want to sign up to our newsletter to get informed of when this goes live!

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Elizabeth Tower Big Ben Refurbishment

Team Support — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:53:58 +0000

Elizabeth Tower ‘Big Ben’ Refurbishment

For nearly 5 years the Elizabeth Tower has been clad in scaffolding as it has undergone a major refurbishment; most people commonly refer to the tower as ‘Big Ben’!

The tower started construction on 28th September 1845 and since then has been restored in the 1930’s, 1950’s and 1980’s and now, a major overhaul has been planned.

The work started on Monday 21st of August 2017 at noon, with a budget of £29 million. However, by September 2017 they soon realised that the initial cost was far too conservative as the extent of the conservation work became apparent, hidden asbestos, more Health and Safety requirements and other challenges meant that initial costs had nearly doubled. By the time it came to finishing the project, the costs had risen to just under £80 million.

Big Ben Bell Tower – Hopton-Wood Stone

This was the largest restoration project it had undergone and it required exact specifications for the refurbishment. The flooring stone required for the Bell Tower, was Hopton-Wood Stone and that is where we come in.

We were asked to provide natural Hopton-Wood Stone to cover the Bell Tower flooring, cut to size to accurately fill the space. In addition, there is a large spiral staircase taking you to the Bell Tower, comprising 334 steps, and these had to be constructed using Hopton-Wood Stone as well. We were able to supply the stone required, to the dimensions and finish specified, so it would look as original as the day it was originally laid.

We are proud to be part of the supply chain for this restoration project; one of the world’s most famous and iconic buildings, was returned to it’s beautiful, majestic and original specifications.

As a bonus, in this ‘behind the scenes video’ you get to see our own John Graham being interviewed. During the interview you can see a large rough piece of Hopton-Wood Stone, so you can see much work is required to get them to a finished product.

To learn a bit more about Hopton-Wood Stone, CLICK HERE

Excerpts from the video showing John Graham at our stone yard, Hopton-Wood stone being finished, the bell tower staircase in Hopton-Wood stone and the floor of the bell tower in Hopton-Wood stone – click to enlarge.

The BBC Video Showing Our Stoneyard & What We Contributed To The Refurbishment!

If you know of a project that requires professional, sympathetic and conservation specific work, then contact us. We have a access to a wide range of natural stone, craftsmen as well as high end CNC stone cutting machinery for total control and accuracy. To see our cutting processes, click here.

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Charnwood House Outside Steps & Balustrade

Team Support — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 20:09:14 +0000

We were asked to provide natural stone for an exterior stone project at Charnwood House in 2021. Stone steps and balustrades were required we were approached due to the nature of the work. Our accuracy, CNC work and access to the right type of stone meant we were the ‘right match’ for the project.

The stone used was Stanton Moor Sandstone, which matched perfectly with the existing rear stonework and surrounding stone buildings. We worked with all parties to ensure the measurements were fit for purpose, stone finish suitable for the setting and designs as per the customer requirement.

After installation, it looks as though it has always been there!

If you have a stone project, need stone supplied cut to very accurate sizes or supplied to be finished on site, we would be delighted to hear from you. To see our cutting processes, click here.

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Would You Like Curved Walling?

Team Support — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 13:46:36 +0000

Would you like curved walling to feature in your new stonework project? Well take a look at this project. Building a stone curved wall takes a bit of skill, getting the curve to flow smoothly, but if you have larger coping stones, as in this project, what do you do?

This wall was made with Derbyshire Sandstone, stone supplied by us – Buxton Architectural Paving & Stone and fitted by our experienced stonemason.

This long wall sweeps down from the garage down towards a sloping lawn, and you can see the wall height as it goes away, increasing to ensure the top stays level.

Each of the curved coping stones were hand shaped, based on good plywood templates to ensure each piece fitted correctly; all done using traditional techniques. The overall effect is a lovely eye catching wall, that blends in with the existing garage and fits in ideally with it’s surroundings.

If you have a stone project, need stone supplied cut to very accurate sizes or supplied to be finished on site, we would be delighted to hear from you. To see our cutting processes, click here.

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We Can Also Just Supply Stone Blocks

Team Support — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 13:21:25 +0000

Both of these projects happened to be on the same street in Bowden, Cheshire! Two different properties had walling coping stones that had deteriorated and needed replacing, along with some fresh build work to a driveway.

The stone is purchased from us to a brief, e.g. rough block size, then the builder who uses our stone on his projects, finished them off on site including coating.

At another property on the street, a new entrance was required to replace pieces that had deteriorated. Again, we supplied the stone and our customer finished it off on site and installed it.

He is more than happy for us to show the work as it highlights the quality of our products and the craftsmanship he deploys.

If you have a stone project, need stone supplied cut to very accurate sizes or supplied to be finished on site, we would be delighted to hear from you. To see our cutting processes, click here.

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A Peak District Listed Pub Special Extension

Team Support — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 09:53:58 +0000

This Listed Building is nestled in the Peak District and is actually a pub. They required an extension on the side, but it had to match the existing stone walling. We were approached at Buxton Architectural Stone to cut out stones to the exact size for the walling.

The stone had to be an Ashlar stone.

You may ask, what is an Ashlar stone?! An Ashlar stone is a stone that has to be cut finely, often cubed and with a fine cut finish. As stone doesn’t come in this finish, our Stonemason had to utilise all his skills. The stone was fresh cut stone so he had to use his secret treatment to ages the stones colour and then cut in a fine herringbone finish.

Using our stone and his skill meant this extension, required to compliment the aged finish of this listed building, meant the project could be completed to the satisfaction of everyone involved.

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Bespoke Quoins – Can We Do It?

Team Support — Mon, 30 Sep 2019 15:29:21 +0000

Bespoke Stone Quoins to the rescue?

We were contacted by a client doing a renovation restoration project on their property in Sheffield. Our client approached us to produce bespoke Quoins required for the restoration of the lower floor of their new property. The Quoins had to be uniquly produced in order for the restoration work to fit in with the original stonework.

Could we do it?

Of course we could.

We programmed the size into our CNC machine and then all of the quoins were cut to a specific requirement, additionally the cut, finish and look had to fit in with the the local authority planning regulations.

The client was very happy with our products and service. You can see the quoins on a pallet ready to go out. Contact us today if you need some bespoke stone work for a building project.

To view our masonry range or our quoins section, click the appropriate button below.

QUOINS SECTION

VIEW MASONRY RANGE

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