Presenting our St Paul’s Cathedral Access Ramp Project on Portland

It was great for Stonewest to support The Worshipful Company of Masons during their annual weekend trip, hosted this year by the island of Portland and specifically Albion Stone.

Although we are familiar with the extraction of Portland stone from the mine, it is always impressive to visit the island and feel its history.

Ian Crossley and Nick Wilson explained how, given its strength and durability, Portland Stone has been used as a building material throughout history and once again it was used to create a key part of the new access ramps around the North Transept entrance to St Paul’s Cathedral.

Working closely with our supply chain and partners, we were able to navigate the whole process from Tender to Value Engineering to make the project viable, as well as manage the design complexities and risks involved.

With the procurement of these highly bespoke materials from Portland, Chinese granite supplied by our sister company Stone Facades in Hong Kong, as well as the bespoke metalwork handrail from Italy, our team was absolutely focussed on delivering the very best work and craftsmanship for our Client, testament to our positive working relationships and the great pride we take in our craft.

As well our Clients at St Paul’s Cathedral, their Architects, Caroe, Structural Engineer Morton and PQS Synergy, we’d like to thank all our partners and supply chain for making this project a success, including Harrison Goldman, Masonry Design, Albion Stone, Johnsons Welfield and Stone Facades who not only procured the granite but also drylaid it in the factory before shipping.

Image: new access ramps at St Paul’s Cathedral – © Caroe Architecture Ltd