Steve Mann, Durham masons’ guild member and local cathedral stone mason has created works of art from stone, and he continues to develop his skills during his employment at Durham cathedral. His work is testimony to the age-old craft and art of shaping stone for quality construction and decorative purposes. Steve is an artisan and his stone carvings attract much public interest.
Figure 1 – Sanctuary Ring in sand stone
Steve’s latest completed project as displayed in Figure 1 was a long-term challenge comprising 450 hours work, undertaken in the undercroft at Durham cathedral in his own time. It was a challenge of huge difficulty and is a stone copy of the world famous Sanctuary ring carved from a 314 kg block of Blaxter sandstone. Dunhouse quarry near Staindrop were the suppliers of the stone. This quarry is used extensively for renovation work at Durham Cathedral as the sandstone bed darkens when it extends further inland, thus matching the weathered stone more effectively when renovations are carried out. Steve’s Sanctuary Ring is on display (Figure 2 – 2026) in the Cathedral museum which was once the Monks dormitory.
Figure 2 – Sanctuary Ring in situ – Cathedral Museum
A bronze copy of the original ring is positioned on the North entrance door of Durham cathedral. The Sanctuary ring has symbolism within its construction and is based upon the Medieval Hellmouth image, designed to frighten away evil. The detail in Figure 3, shows a man’s legs hanging out of a lion’s mouth whilst his feet are bitten by a double headed snake.