What you can learn in a stone carving class (in just one day!)

If you’re looking for a stone carving class in Salisbury or southern England, you don’t need any experience to get started. At Gray’s Stone Carving Studio we teach complete beginners, returning studio regulars, and even professional stone carvers. You can book a one-hour taster, a full-day course, or a term of weekly sessions and in each case, you’ll leave with work that’s your own, and a better understanding of the material in your hands.

Our stone carving classes focus on hand tools and traditional methods. No automation. No shortcuts. Simply selecting the correct tools for the job, sensitive and thorough tuition, and a studio that welcomes everyone. Here’s a fair description of what we offer: stone carving training that meets you where you are, with results you can see in the stone.

In a one-hour class, we walk you through the basics. You’ll get to carve a small piece of stone and learn how it feels to make controlled marks with your chisel. We don’t rush this bit. You’ll be able to ask questions and try to carve a relief shape or letter. A lot of people use this hour to decide whether they want to carry on.

If you book a seven-hour day class, we’ll go deeper. Depending on your experience, we’ll supply you with an apprentice-level design that will embed the fundamental skills of stone carving.  People often bring ideas with them, and we help translate those into something achievable. You’ll spend most of the day carving, and we’ll be on hand the entire time. Our popular day classes are all about gaining confidence and skills you can build on.

If you commit to a 18-21-hour term, you’ll get more than enough time to develop a larger piece, improve your techniques, or work on something more personal. This is where many of our regular carvers start creating more elaborate work. Sessions run weekly on a Monday morning, in three-hour blocks, and we keep groups small so you always get enough support.

You don’t need a particular reason to come. Some people want to make something meaningful. Some want to switch off for a few hours. Others want to take their skills further. We welcome all of those.

Sometimes, students come to us because they want to carve a memorial. That might be for someone close to them, or for themselves. We help make that possible. We’ve guided people through carving initials, motifs, and full inscriptions. We also offer this as part of our memorial commissioning process. You don’t have to do it all yourself—just the bit that matters most to you.

Henry leads the classes. He’s been carving for decades and teaches with clarity, patience and realism. He’s also spoken at local events about how stone carving helped him recover from serious mental health difficulties.

“There were times I couldn’t focus on anything, but carving gave me something clear to do, a meditative focus one tap at a time. It’s really effective for focusing my mind and my body.” HG

Back in 2022, GSCS worked with the Desert Rats Association on a major project at the National Memorial Arboretum. Henry and Tam welcomed a group of veterans to the studio over several months. Some had never carved before. Some were dealing with physical limitations or mental challenges. The team worked hard to ensure that, with the right accommodations, everyone had a chance to contribute to the memorial, veterans making a memorial for veterans. A lot of them told us afterwards that it helped quiet their thoughts and gave them a sense of clarity and purpose.

That’s not an unusual thing to hear in this studio.

If you want to see what this feels like, book a class. We run structured term courses during the school year, and ad hoc sessions for returning carvers and those with more experience. You can book the scheduled classes on our website or email us at info@grays-stone-carving.co.uk to ask about ad hocs.

We also recommend checking out our gallery and Instagram for photos of recent students’ work. You’ll see what’s possible, even in a single day.