LOCAL PEOPLE
James Elliot Creates History in Rutland
Photos: Elli Dean
J
AMES Elliott has devoted his entire professional life to perfecting his knowledge of marble, stone and semi-precious stones and his craftsmanship is on display at heritage sites both in the United Kingdom and abroad. James’ extensive knowledge of geology and architectural history must have placed him at the top of a very short list when it came to selecting a stone mason to undertake the task of creating a tomb to hold the mortal remains of King Richard III in Leicester Cathedral. During a planned programme of structural improvement at the Cathedral, King Richard’s remains were discovered under a car park in the Grey Friars area of Leicester City Centre, meaning that Josh McCosh, the cathedral’s architect was suddenly faced with a very different scenario. A swift phone call to James arranged an urgent appointment but it was only when they met in person that Josh revealed the scale of the proposition he had in mind. The next few months saw James and his team working from 6am till 11pm, seven days a week to accomplish the task. The tombstone itself is made from a piece of Swaledale Fossil that undertook a painstaking
process of slicing, polishing and finishing before the three tonne block of fragile stone was transformed with a hand carved cross – a tricky process to achieve without damage to the stone. James even invented a tool which didn’t exist, to smooth down the tricky internal fixings and faces. Next a piece of Kilkenny marble for the plinth was designed to take the weight of the top, all cut precisely and exactly to shape and size with an inscription and coat of arms, intricately assembled on site by James and his team. After the coffin was placed during the main service of interment, James and the team worked overnight to get the tombstone positioned in time for another special service the following day where the tomb in its entirety was revealed. Reflecting on the project, James gives full credit to the aesthetic and technical collaboration between himself and Josh as well as the countless other experts including transportation specialists who made the process possible. Prouder still of the new altar he created in time for the services, James descended a mile and a half underground in Staffordshire to oversee the extraction of the
piece of alabaster required. “For me, the altar is very special as it will be enjoyed by so many people visiting the cathedral for centuries to come and that’s a great feeling.” So will this stonemason to royalty still undertake commissions for the interior projects of humbler folk? “You bet – what else would I do with all the off-cuts?” he laughs. • See step by step photography and a specially commissioned film documenting the project at jameselliott.co.uk STAMFORD LIVING MAY 2015
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