We can see here that 2 Derbyshire sandstone caps have been made and prepared to be mounted on to the posts.  Then the after, the caps were finished to match the same colour as the posts.  The caps are a perfect fit and look in ideal proportion to the posts.

In this project you can see a whole post being rebuilt with layering as well as a cap.  It is a red sandstone that was used, the cap has a curved finish to it and the layering has a tooled margined faces to give a little extra detailing.

We were asked to provide the stonework using Stanton Moor Sandstone.  After the stone was delivered and applied to the building, you can se the lines, curves and shape all flow seamlessly with the existing facade.

Click on the images to see the work in more detail.

All of the internal radius’s mouldings and moulded panels were done by hand.  Iain, a talented stonemason, who does work for us, took two weeks, by hand, to get the detailing on the curves.

As you can see, from clicking on any of the images, the work has been done to a high professional finish. Iain has also done other work, which is displayed on our site, such as stone plaques – you can see some HERE.

As you can see, these Stanton Moor coping stones finished off the brick work walling surround areas in a beautiful style.  The pool looks amazing with the flag stone around, the coping stones on the walls match the brick work and flags to make it all flow and look harmonious.

However, these natural stone coping stones were not just designed complete the look of this outside area.  They had another purpose. They also hid the lighting, so when the day draws to an end, the whole area looks more enchanted for an evening outside in the patio area.

So we set to work on this project with a larger lump of Sandstone and set our machine running to perfectly cut out the balls.

The two balls took 1 day to produce.   They are make of Fletcher Bank Sandstone and are 255cm wide.   The weight approximately 40Kg each and, along with a small plinth to support them, they look wonderful!

After the machine work, our resident stonemason stencilled the letter, over the front radius, and infilled it.   The overall finish means an elegant, solid and personal step as ‘welcome to our house’ statement.

To see other examples of carving, lettering or stencilling – visit our plaque section HERE

Inside the heart of the outside buildings is a traditional courtyard laid with thousands of granite cobble setts. This became a necessary focus for the Trust for restoration work on the Setts in order for the courtyard to be made suitable for the modern requirements regarding flooring for public places and to be more pushchair, wheelchair and scooter friendly.

The project required areas of the original setts to be uplifted, then following trials was agreed that these were either cut in half or have the tops removed, allowing them to be relayed giving a flat top surface.

English Heritage worked together with The National Trust to agree how the setts should be finished allowing the project to retain authenticity and using the original materials which was critical in maintaining the heritage of Belton House.

David Munslow, of The National Trust, brought some of the setts here to us in December 2022 for trials on both options suggested of cutting in half and or topping to obtain the flat surface area for the setts required.

After successful trials approval was passed for us to process the setts ready for relay in the summer of 2023.

There was a strict deadline mapped out for the restoration works from us receiving the now uplifted setts, processing and then delivery back to Belton.

This had to be meticulously planned out in order for the contractors on site to do the uplifting, delivery to our yard, processing and then returning back to Belton House of which the Trust had a set closure period in the courtyard for 2 weeks to allow for the relaying to be done.

A more functional and better access has now been achieved to the courtyard, shops and amenities and we have been very proud to have been a part of the supply chain in brining this project to a successful completion.

However, there is more! Each Christmas season, Belton House has a “Winter Lights at Belton” daily and evening event. There is a magical winter light walk around the magnificent gardens with different displays, themes, attractions, food & drinks, and a few small rides for children.

As part of a Thank You from the National Trust we were invited to come and see the courtyard project completed and enjoy the festive event. This was a wonderful evening and good to see the benefits the restoring of the Setts has achieved.

We have a story about this next week! You even get to see some of the team.

Our private customer decided to go for wall coping stones using a concrete based product, but when it came to topping off the brick piers they came to us.

They wanted a simple square design to fit in with the square coping style, so asked for a Stanton Moor Sandstone pier cap for each pier.

They make a striking pair and set off the entrance with an sturdy clean finish.