Welcome

Minerva, established twenty years ago, is a small business engaged in the specialist repair and conservation of historic stone and plasterwork. Our directors, Andrew Ziminski and Andrew Sharland, met whilst attending the Postgraduate Stone Conservation course at Weymouth College in Dorset and went on to gain further experience by working for Salisbury Cathedral Works Department. In 1998 Andrew Ziminski was awarded a William Morris Craft Fellowship by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Our Team is particularly enhanced by the presence of Christina Kaye who trained under the guidance of Professor Baker on the West front of Wells Cathedral.

We mainly work in Wessex, but undertake church monument conservation work throughout the UK and abroad. Recently Minerva formed part of a team of UK-based advisors that visited Russia on an exchange visit to the Society of the Village Church. Our lifelong interest in the landscape and its manipulation by man has given us a rare understanding of the building techniques, vernacular style and building materials of South West & Southern Britain. We always welcome enquiries for smaller projects from private individuals.

For latest news see our Blog page

What we do:

Stonemasonry, stonecarving and conservation
Lettercutting
All aspects of working in lime,
Lime plastering, lime pointing, mortar repairs.
Cleaning of and pollutant removal from architectural stonework
Leadwork and roofing.
Reports.
Oil-gilding, painting and decorating.

Download our guide for caring for ancient stone monuments It is a distillation of the experience gained by Minerva Stone Conservation over many years of undertaking monument repair and conservation.
[ download PDF file - 2.3mb ]

Priory Church of St James, Bristol restoration
[full details of the project]