The unveiling of the stone carving at Benefact Group’s head office. Pictured is Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group (left), and Ben Holmes, stonemason (right).
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Benefact Group unveils stone carving

The beautiful stone carving, which is inspired by Benefact Group’s new logo, was unveiled to employees at the Group’s new head office in Gloucestershire.

Designed and completed by Ben Holmes, a skilled stonemason based in the South West, the stone carving depicts a quatrefoil icon, with four overlapping circles and a spark in the centre gilded in gold.

Ben is a graduate of The Prince’s Foundation’s 2021/22 Building Craft Programme (BCP) which helps to preserve valuable heritage skills, which are gradually being lost as the average age of workers in the historic buildings sector approaches retirement age.

The BCP supports those working in the construction sector to push their skills to the next level and continue on their journey to becoming the next generation of master craftspeople.

Benefact Group is a long-term supporter of the BCP and has helped fund students through the programme since 2018.

Benefact Group is a proud champion of heritage skills. The Group sponsors the sustainable heritage master’s degree at University College London and the Cathedral Workshop Fellowship (CWF) based in Gloucester which provides a degree level qualification in stonemasonry.

Chris Pitt, Group Impact Director at Benefact Group, said: “We wanted to commission a stone carving of our new logo for our head office in Gloucestershire to celebrate our new brand and our passion for heritage. We were delighted to work with Ben, who was a student on the Building Craft Programme which we have supported for a number of years.”

Ben Holmes said: “Getting a piece of stone measuring 600-700mm cubed from the back of my van over to my workshops was a challenge in itself, and then began the process of carving it down to a perfect cuboid weighing 70kg and working from there. I sent Benefact Group a couple of designs and they settled on one that emphasises their main logo — a quatrefoil, with four circles overlapping — and creating a spark in the middle that I’ve gilded in gold. The whole process has taken around a month and incorporated many of the skills I learned on The Prince’s Foundation’s Building Craft Programme, which was very rewarding. It’s the first thing I’ve ever really designed and made myself having been given the artistic licence to go for it, so I’m thrilled Benefact Group are happy with it.”

Benefact Group’s giving and sponsorships are funded by EIO plc.