News & Awards

Check back here regularly to find out what's going on.

TO HULL ON A HANDCART - July 2023

We are delighted to have aquired an antique stonemasons handcart by auction at Beverley Minster to help raise restoration funds for Beverley's two churches charity apeal. The auction raised almost £39k & included many carefully dismantled stone pinnacles that were replaced by the Gomersall Partnership over a seven year period for the church.

The handcart was used mainly by Beverley minster maintenance staff for over a century but it was also put to good work by many of Andrew's stonemason predecesors of Quibell & Son Ltd (1874-2010) that worked on the minster & was proudly shown to him on his first day of work by his former master mason the late Ken E Ralph. The handcart is a welcome addition to our Zoo Keepers Yard & will in time be fully restored & put on display during heritage open days.

Pictured Below Caroline Hawley Auctioneer (BBC Bargain Hunt Fame)

NEW YARD & WORKSHOPS - October 2022

The Gomersall Partnership continued to grow througout the pandamic & worked on numerous projects mainly in Hull.

These included

New tracery & repairs to All Saints Church, Hessle.

Repairs & Stonecleaning to Beverley Road Baths, Hull.

Rebuilding & repairs to gables on Hepwoths arcade, Hull.

Repairs & Alterations to the fabric of Hull Minster

Repairs & reconstruction of Piers to Bar House, Beverley

All of this work enabled us to invest in our very own yard & workshops in Hull.

The yard had been semi derelict for almost 30 years but has had an interesting history dating back to Hull's  Zoological Gardens that bordered the site until 1861. It had been a dairy, a taxi rank & then a builders yard for 4 generations before falling into a state of neglect in the early 90's.

We accuired the property in October of 2022 & replaced a roof, an entire floor, made several structural improvements, added insulation & replaced all the windows. Despite there being some minor cosmetic improvements still required we managed to "move in" in January 2023 & we are pleased to report that we are loving the space & freedom it has provided us.

Introducing the "Zoo Keepers Yard" new home of the Gomersall Partnership (& yes that is a giraffe!)

MASTER CRAFTSMAN CERTIFICATE  - March 2019

Andrew was extemeley honoured to accept a master craftsmans certificate in stonemasonry by the "Worshipul Company of Masons" at a ceramony in the carpenters Hall in the city of London on the 11th of March 2019. This presigious award was presented by the Lord Mayor & the Master of the Masons Guild. The award is given by the ancient Masons livery guild & nominees are judged by a panel of their peers appointed by the city & guilds institue & the stone federation of Great Britain. It is the highest award that a stonemason can recieve for their craft in the UK and Andrew was extreamley proud to have been considered deserving of it!

Read more about it in this article by Trudi Davidson on Hull-Live. Link below

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/hull-east-yorkshire-news/watch-stonemason-carves-intricate-grotesques-2620136

MASONS CHOICE AWARD - 2018 YORK STONE CARVING FESTIVAL

More than 60 Stone Carvers from across the world took part in York Minsters 3rd Stone Carving Festival 17-19 August 2018. Participents were given 16hrs to carve a stone with the theme of "all creatures great & small" all 60+ stones were auctioned off to the public to raise funds for the ongoing restoration works at the minster.

ANDLEE mallets were among the official sponsors giving away 4 mallets as prizes for each of the different categories. I also entered the carving competition & won the prize for Mason's choice, a vote was taken from all the carvers for best carving & I was delighted when my stone "rat catcher" won!

My design was based on an existing carved capital from 1903 in Barcelona, with the addition of a crafty looking cat.

CONGRATULATIONS ALSO TO

Adam Beaumont - Peoples Choice Award

Henrik Storksen - Mason's Choice Apprentice Award

Richard Bossons - The Worshipful Company of Mason's Award (He was using an ANDLEE too!)

Lewis Morrison - Masonic Mason's Award