The Stonemasons

The Dean and Chapter maintain a team of stonemasons to continually repair the fabric of the Cathedral and to create new artwork.

photograph by Chris Keeling

Under the direction of Master Mason Pascal Mychalysin a team of masons and apprentices from all over Europe work from a yard in Pitt Street. surrounded by giant blocks of limestone. Hand tools which the cathedral's original masons would recognise across a thousand years combine with powered stonecutters in the skilled hands of professionals. The craft still takes seven years to learn, and journeymen masons travel from yard to yard across the continent to gain experience.