Working at Mother Shipton's Cave
We've had the up most pleasure to be able to work with the owner of Mother Shipton's Cave at Knearsbough, North Yorkshire. They had a huge chunk of reclaimed sandstone that was rescued from the crusher on a demolition site.
They wanted to create something fun that everyone could enjoy, so we decided to carve the saying 'under this sod lies another'.
Here is a picture of myself in action, chipping away with one of many Tungsten Carbide tipped chisels. With this stone being reclaimed there are quite a few deep marks on the surface which makes it more difficult to carve letters. I always think stones that are uneven or have marks give the finished piece a more interesting look, with years of history.
Excuse the boots, but its 11 o'clock and time for a brew. As you can see only two more words to carve and i'm really happy with the progress so far.The weather was very hot and i was lucky enough to be working under the shady canopy of some huge trees. You can see the deep marks clearly on the surface of the stone in this picture, i'm unsure what this stone was in the past, it could of been a memorial stone or even just had a plaque on it for a business or village.
That's it all finished and ready to go on public display for the thousands of visitors that come here each year to enjoy. I'm really pleased with how this project turned out and the owner is over the moon.
Today the stone was put into its prime position and on view for everyone to enjoy. If you want something to do over the summer holidays with the kids, why not pay Mother Shipton's a visit! its a fun day out for the whole family, with lots to see and do.
They have just installed a state of art play area for the kids, which is right next to the ice-cream van and picnic tables.
Hope you've enjoyed my blog and if you do go i'd love to see your pictures next to the stone, you can post them on our facebook page just search for Swales in the Dales stone carving.
Thanks
Chris Swales
