OUGD504 STONEMASONRY RESEARCH

• Stonemasonry was one of the earliest trades in history of civilisation 
• Castle building was an entire industry for medieval stonemasons 
• When the western roman empire fell, building in dressed stone in western Europe became unpopular and was taken over by timber-based construction
• There was later a resurgence in stonemasonry in the 9th and 10th century
• In the 12th century religious fervour resulted in the construction of thousands of beautiful churches and cathedrals 
• Medieval stonemasons were in high demand due to their amazing skill
• Stonemasonry continued to be popular throughout the renaissance 
• Stonemasons would carve symbols and initials into their work to differentiate their work from others
• Monumental masonry (also known as memorial masonry) was stonemasonry based completely on the creation on headstones and graves
• In christian culture, when someone has passed away they would be laid to rest in a burial site with a custom burial stone
• The stone would hold information such as the name of the deceased, the date, how they died, a short religious poem etc. 
• The inscription would be negotiated between the monumental mason and the family related to the deceased
• This was a sensitive job as there would usually be a trade off between cost and expectation of quality
• Symbols related to death such as angels, praying hands and flowers would be engraved on the headstone
• Towards the beginning of the 20th century the art became a lot simpler and began to lose its craftsmanship 
• Machines were being used to do the stonemasons job and the quality of the headstone were becoming worse as a result
• Bristol based architect Lawrence Weaver stated in the early 20th century, "Today many of the persons who are curiously called 'monumental masons' bring to their task neither educated taste nor the knowledge of good historical examples; they are often, moreover, incompetent in their craftsmanship. The more important shops which purvey marble monuments are, if anything, rather worse, for they stereotype bad designs, which are the more offensive because they are more ambitious and costly. The clerical tailors who sell most of the engraved brasses have mainly succeeded in making that form of memorial the most dreary. All three sources of supply have added a new terror to death."
• This quote basically states that monumental masons in the 20th century managed to change the design and expectation of headstones to something incredibly dreary and less traditional
• Since then, stonemasonry on burial stones has never been the same and the art has died
• Today, people have even gone far enough as putting QR codes on their graves to link to a web page with a photo album or personal message to others