In May 2025, The West Riding Stone Carving Association (WRSA) will be hosting the European Stone Festival here in Halifax, in the Upper Calder Valley. This will be only the third time in the festival’s 25-year history that it has been held in the UK, and the first time ever in Yorkshire. It very nearly came to the Piece Hall in 2022 but… well, we all remember Covid.
The previous British host cities were Lincoln (2013) and Canterbury (2003), with each festival being run by the relevant Cathedral Works Department. Here in Halifax, it will be hosted by the WRSA, a members’ association of enthusiastic hobbyists, and we’ll provide a proper Yorkshire welcome!
Few crafts have shaped human history quite like stone carving; from the Palaeolithic knapping of tools, through petroglyphs and prehistoric Venus figurines, spectacular medieval European cathedral masonry, our very own Yorkshire-born-and-bred Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, all the way up to and including those of us still hand-carving stone here in the 21st century.
West Riding Stone Carving Association
The WRSA was founded in 2010 by John Swift and Andrew Bramley and is located at the base of the chimney stack of Shaw Lodge Mill in Halifax – a mill once used to manufacture moquette cloth for the hard-wearing seat covers on public transport. These days it’s run by John’s sister, Helen Jukes, a one-woman dynamo who simultaneously manages the roles of Association Secretary, general factotum, administrator, head tutor, mentor, unpaid social-worker and chivvier-along-in-chief.
It’s an egalitarian association, with members coming from across the spectrum of local (and not so local) society, with a wide range of ages – from those in their early 20s through to a few who remember their 80s as being a little less raucous than maybe their wilder 70s. Nor is it as male-dominated a group as might be expected, with a large number of very capable women carvers active in the association. And at (currently) a monthly subscription of only £25 – with all tools provided – it’s simply not an elitist activity: it’s an affordable, warm place in a cold climate.
Once through the doors everyone is a carver, irrespective. It’s a place for chat, tea, biscuits, the odd bit of stone carving, more chat and definitely more tea. I’ve heard members talk about it being their “stone-carving family”. It’s a social space for them to come and relax – sometimes folk will drop in, have a cuppa and a chat, and then go again with a cheery goodbye. Carving stone every time you turn up isn’t mandatory even though it is what’s brought us all together.
Stone carving rocks
People come along to learn a really, really old ‘new’ skill, but more than that they often walk away with not just a new carving made by their own fair hands but also with new friends. Helen is not just a superb and versatile tutor and mentor (just read the Visitors’ Book), but also a great listener – you can come along feeling a little glum, and walk away knowing that someone didn’t just listen but actually heard what you said – all with no judgement.
And the existing members are always willing to help those newer or less experienced than themselves, as well as those who have just come along for a tryout. This may be by simply casting a helpful eye over works in progress and providing an encouraging word or two, else chatting about the workshop and the numerous carvings on the shelves which run all around the walls. We may talk through and explain a new or unfamiliar technique, or help with ideas, designs and lettering layouts. And, of course, suggest ways to get past the occasional “Oops, that wasn’t supposed to happen” moment – something we’ve all experienced more than once but which are (mostly) recoverable.
Traditions matter
The intention of the WRSA from the very beginning has been to keep alive the art of traditional stone carving, using just mallet, dummy (the stone carver’s trusty round hammer) and chisel, while bringing it to the wider public.
Here at the mill, Helen provides half-day, one-day and two-day short courses for those who want to try their hand and come away with their very own carving. This can be a simple daisy, a sturdy Yorkshire Rose or an enigmatic Green Man. She also teaches an eight-week foundation course for beginners, a prelude to membership and being let loose on the wonderful and therapeutic world of bashing stone with style.
Although the mill can get a little noisy at times, the focus on hand-carving makes dust and noise minimal when compared with machine-carving, which is an absolute no-no here. As a result many students have commented on the stress-free nature of both the environment and the various courses. Power tools are anathema, except for the two large circular saws used to cut the biggest blocks into more manageable sizes. If doing this for yourself doesn’t grab your fancy, or if you’ve not been safety-trained on using the saws, there’s always one or two of us around who can do this for you. We’re an association with co-operative genes.
What’s more, at WRSA you’re quite likely to use magnesium limestone from Tadcaster, the stone used for the original building and ongoing maintenance of York Minster. If you’ve ever wondered how the detail on this Gothic masterpiece was created you can now have a go for yourself. And you get to say that you’ve actually worked in a mill – even if only for a day: that’s a piece of Yorkshire history right there.
Festival ahoy!
But, back to the European Stone Festival. Helen, John and other members have been regular contestants in this festival since the founding of the WRSA, representing England in Trondheim (Norway), Salzburg (Austria), and have just returned from the 2024 festival in Budapest (Hungary). So, when, for reasons outside the scope of this article, 2025’s intended host city Freiburg had to pull out, Helen promptly agreed to host it. It had been due to come to Halifax in 2026 anyway, but now it will arrive a year early. Luckily, the WRSA has already got one successful stone-carving festival under its belt in 2023.
So, here we are, an exciting international festival now only a year away, rather than the two we’d expected. The festival will be held in the grounds of Halifax Minster on 24/25 May 2025. We will be expecting up to 120 competing masons and carvers, both apprentices and master crafters, working furiously to create spectacular works of art in only two days. All the artworks will be publicly auctioned at the end of the event.
Hard work for us, good fun for you
There’ll be music, food, probably Morris Dancers, maybe the odd beer, and definitely plenty of tea and cakes. All while giving visitors the chance to talk to the masons and carvers as they work. We tend to be a chatty bunch – just watch out for flying chips of stone. And please do appreciate that things can get a little dusty, so your best white trousers may not be the most appropriate clothing on the day. To be honest, based on the usual weather in the Calder Valley, you’ll probably need to bring sunglasses, umbrella, wellies and possibly a bikini – that’s proper ‘festival’, that is!
All we need now is some more business sponsors, a lot of hard graft and planning on our part, a fair amount of stone to play with, and ideally good weather on the day (not mandatory) – but we’ll get there.
And finally for your part in this: we want as many people as possible to spread the word and for all of you, your families, and your friends to put the date in your diary, come along on the weekend, have fun, and see some amazing stone carving. Live!
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