Gary Holliday - Stone Mason
Gary, from Benfieldside, is a supervisor stonemason at Durham Cathedral leading a team of masons and other crafts repairing and renovating the fabric of the buildings.
He always wanted to be a mason and joined his uncle's company from school. He then had the chance to work at the Cathedral, which is a fabulous opportunity for any craftsperson. He has achieved many awards for his work and is a Fellow of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings.
It's not only the Cathedral that has to be repaired in very specific, historic ways. All the workshops, houses, and even walls, within the Cathedral grounds, have to be treated this way. Even the guttering has to be made of wood in the carpentry workshops.
One fact that really brought the history alive is that the stonemason workshop was originally the monk's brewhouse in the 12 th. century and some of the structures are still there. What a place to work.