Divine Stone

Before a stone gets to a banker mason, it gets to the machines. In the setting out shop the stone is added to the saw schedule based on the construction drawings. A job ticket is also prepared and sometimes a zinc template. Therefore saw schedules and job tickets were an integral part of the stone cutting process at the Cathedral.

The work on the tower was divided into 10 zones, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and FP. Each zone had a North, South, East, and West elevation and stones were prefixed with the orientation and zone letter. The first stone listed above, NC 112, denotes a particular stone on the North elevation of C zone. It indicates it is a base stone with its overall dimensions. The zones were logical or manageable divisions. The “A” zone started at the cornice/roof level and ended at the top of the columns at the start of the gablets. The “B” zone comprised the gablets and terminated at the cornice where the “C” zone began comprising the sill/weathering courses and window elements.

Job Tickets

Job tickets were created in the setting out shop at the same time as the templates and schedules. They were issued to the stone cutters and sometimes sawyers when they started on a stone. The ticket would usually have a sketch of the finished piece along with the overall dimensions. It also provided a record of who had worked the stone and when.

• Thanks to Stephen Boyle for the original saw schedules and the information of job tickets.

When we first visited the Poets’ Corner, we saw John Everett “Fud” Benson (left above) cutting the letters on the wall of the “corner”, in 1983-84. It is located in the Arts Bay of the nave. Since then we have heard from John Benson and also his son Nick. They identified the letter cutter on the right above, as Brooke Roberts. Brooke, who worked for the John Stevens Shop for 7-8 years and then went on his own, is now retired. Mr. Benson, retired also, said they spent about a month on the wall. He added that they cut the floor plaques for a year or so until the Cathedral found internal talent to do those plaques. He remembered Nick Fairplay. Simon Verity is also reported to have cut some of the floor plaques. We now return to the Poets’ Corner to learn more about who cuts the letters.

The letter cutting of the floor plaques became a permanent contribution about 20 years ago for Chris Pellittieri. Chris became an apprentice at the Cathedral about 30 years ago.

Chris attended the Cathedral school, so he knew the place and saw the early stoneyard operation. After college he chose to apply for an apprenticeship rather than continue in his degree field of mathematics. He also became an Artist-In-Residence of the Cathedral and works in New York as a professional stone carver and teacher.

Audre Lorde

• Thanks to Robert F. Rodriguez for producing this video and the photographs
• Chris Pellettieri’s website is http://www.stonecarving.us
• Our original blog post on the Poets’ Corner https://divinestone.org/blog/poets-corner/

The completion of an apprenticeship is marked by ceremony and celebration. It is a time for all involved to recognize the achievements of the individual apprentices as well as the masters who have successfully transferred their skills. All involved turned out for the apprentice graduation.

The Master Builder looks on as his first apprentices complete four years of work and learning. The ceremony in the Cathedral speaks volumes about the importance of the event to all concerned.

After the impressive ceremony, well wishers and colleagues converge on the new journeymen. The apprentice graduation is a shared pride in this unique place.

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Generational Skills Passed Down

In the traditional apprentice program for stone masons, Master Masons passed their skills down to apprentices in a work and learn environment. For centuries, during the Middle Ages of Europe, The Master Masons conducted apprenticeship schools to teach the young apprentices the craft of stonemasonry and the art of geometry.

Geometry and Masonry were synonymous terms in the stonemasons training program. Geometry and building crafts secrets were passed down through the generations by word of mouth in the program.

• Thanks to Jose Tapia for the information and the use of his Certificate.
• Thanks to Robert F. Rodriguez for always being there when an important event happened in the stoneyard.

In 1989, Dean Morton asked D’Ellis Kincannon to create an architectural drawing of the Tower of St. Paul. This was the tower being constructed and a symbol of the working stoneyard. Parts of individual construction drawings, stitched together, formed the entire new drawing. The result was one complete drawing of the West Face of the Tower, to scale, with every stone, all 12,000, numbered. It also shows the construction zones A (lowest) through K (highest) and FP, from elevation 239’3″ to 393’0″. Dean Morton sent the drawing out as Merry Christmas from the Dean. Signed at the bottom right.

The “card” must have amazed the recipients. It measured three feet wide and eight feet long. The detail and the precise joining of different drawings made for a beautiful presentation. “Jeep” Kincannon was justifiably proud of his work.

A Symbol of Pride and Love

The Dean was ever so proud of the the stoneyard and the workers, which is probably why he wanted to send this impressive statement to friends and colleagues. It was symbolic in many ways. A story he once told involved a question from one man to another. The question asked was “What do you give a poor man?” The answer:

You give him a dollar for bread, and another one for a flower.

Dean Morton knew the spiritual impact of the Cathedral building program on the community. At a time when the neighborhood was struggling in so many ways, some thought that all funds should be directed to social programs. In a way, the stoneyard was his flower to the community.

• Thanks to Stephen Boyle for sharing this with us and to Pamela Morton for the photo.

Once the stone cutters numbers grew and the quantity of cut stones reached a certain point, it was time to add stone carvers to the mix. In keeping with the principle of the medieval stoneyard, certain stone cutters would be candidates for carving training. With the aid of an Endowment for the Arts grant the Cathedral finds a stone carver.

A Chance Meeting

One day when Jim Bambridge was back in Dorset working on drawings, he was driving in nearby Somerset. He saw a stone carving activity and pulled off the road to see what was taking place. There he met young Nick Fairplay. Nick was helping his friend, Master Carver Mel Morris Jones. Jones’ commission involved Dolphins for the Naval College in Greenwich. This chance meeting lead to the recruitment of Nick Fairplay to direct the carving at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in the fall of 1984.

Fairplay’s Training

Born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK, Fairplay left school at 16. He applied for a stone apprenticeship but the company already had their quota of two apprentices. He told them he would work for them for free, for 6 months. His goal for the period was to be better than at least one of the existing apprentices. At the end of the period, he was put on full time for the work on Chichester Cathedral. A similar work rule almost kept him from becoming a carver on this job, but his persistence overcame it.

He later became gargoyle carver on the restoration of the North Front and Henry 7th Chapel at Westminster Abbey. After receiving his degree from City and Guilds of London Art School in life drawing and clay modeling, he won the Beckwith Travel scholarship for Drawing and continued his studies of Renaissance, Baroque and Roman Architecture and sculpture in Rome.

“My training was in medieval and classical ornament on English Cathedrals and Parish churches. Working on Westminster Abbey with one hundred men gave me a wealth of experience. They had trained in shops with 400 men after World War II. I wasn’t just learning from the work I was carving, I also learned from the work the older men were carving.”

– Nicholas Fairplay

At The Cathedral

Nick arrived at the Cathedral to begin his job instructing design, drawing, modeling, carving, technical drawing and theory. The Cathedral finds a stone carver but there wasn’t much yet to work with. The carving shed had to be built, apprentices had to be chosen and the supervision of the cutters was temporarily vacant. He agreed to fill in with the cutters for a time. Both Jim Bambridge and Dean Morton gave him advice on selecting the carver trainees once he was ready. Each had their recommendations for the apprentices to move to carver training. Each recommendation involved different people. Fairplay designed a competition. Anyone interested could submit. They were asked to carve a crocket, based on one he carved and was the model for the competition.

The Crocket

The submitted crockets were numbered and the Dean and Master Builder were called in to evaluate them and vote on the best. They had to agree on which three were the best. Once they agreed, Fairplay turned the numbers over to reveal the winners names. They were Ruben Gibson, Jeep Kincannon and Angel Escobar. Angel made it known that he preferred to stay in the cutting shed for the time being. This elevated Joseph Kincannon’s entry into the finals. These three then began their training as stone carvers.

• Special thanks to Nick Fairplay and Joseph Kincannon for the information in this post.