ORDINARY MEETING OF FELLOWS LECTURE

A life in Ruins – A Stonemason’s study of southern Britain’s ancient monuments, churches and bridges

by Andrew Ziminski FSA

Andrew Ziminski been working as a Heritage Stonemason on churches, listed bridges and archaeological sites throughout Southern England and the Westcountry for the past thirty years.

He has worked on a wide range of monuments. From the earliest surviving structure in England -The West Kennet Long Barrow to the Roman Baths in Bath and so on through countless Medieval Churches and Cathedrals to the monuments of the Industrial Revolution.

In unpicking these monuments Andrew has closely studied the work of his predecessors and discovered how they used their tools, what techniques they used to quarry, dress, square up a variety of stone and how successive periods used different types of lime mortar for fixing.

Andrew has worked on many projects involving Sarsen stone and has developed a close understanding of how the Stonehenge Sarsens were dressed and moved from the Marlborough Downs.

Working in the Roman Baths in Bath Andrew found it deeply satisfying to conserve the famous Gorgon Pediment and other equally important monuments using the same tools and techniques and even lifting equipment as his Roman forebears.

At Salisbury Cathedral, Andrew learnt to appreciate the work of the engineer/masons who designed the spire and supporting structure that transferred its gigantic mass down to the ground and how it is all down to the adaption of Islamic engineering techniques.

Last year his book The Stonemason was published by John Murrays and it has had some excellent reviews including “In attempting to reconnect us to this continuous narrative of English history and architecture, Ziminski is undertaking something more profound than the charm of this delightful book first suggests. Delicate as the threads that tie us to the past can seem, thanks to work like Ziminski’s, both as mason and as author, we can hope they will remain unbroken”. Robert Leigh-Pemberton, Sunday Telegraph 21-3-20.

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This event will be both in person at Burlington House and online. Please select the appropriate ticket below.

Attendance at Burlington House:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows and Non-Fellows.
• Places in person will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The event will begin at 17.00 BST. Please arrive in plenty of time.
• Tea/Coffee for Fellows is served from 16.30 BST
• Registration is essential for non-Fellows but we encourage Fellows to register as well.
• Fellows must ensure they sign the guest book and sign their guests in.
• All attendees should scan the NHS QR code available at the entrance. For further details on the Government guidelines regarding COVID-19 and track and trace please visit their website here.

The schedule for the evening if attending in person:

• Refreshments for Fellows are served from 16.30 BST in the council room.
• The meeting begins at 17.00 BST with the lecture starting at approximately 17.10 BST.
• Lectures run for approximately 45min and are followed by a short Q&A.
• Sherry is served in the Foyer following the lecture.

Attendance by Live Stream:

• Open to anyone to join, Fellows and Non-Fellows.
• The event will be live-streamed to YouTube here
• The event will begin at 17.00 BST.
• You will receive an email reminder with the link to join the day before the lecture.

Please help the Society continue to deliver our FREE online Lecture Programme by making a donation to cover the cost of upgraded IT and software. We would really appreciate your support. Thank you! 

If you have any questions, please contact us on [email protected]

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