Man swaps engineering for career in stonemasonry

Liam Gent, 31, once convinced his nan to take him to Rome as a teenager because of his love of stonework

A Coventry man who swapped engineering for a career in stonemasonry has been given a place on a prestigious stone-carving course at a university.

Liam Gent, 31, from Radford, is one of seven people selected to study a degree in Architectural Stone at London Arts School, which starts in September.

He said winning a place on the course was "a very proud moment" as he had had an interest in stonework since he was a child.

"My nan took me to Rome when I was about 15 and I was just always fascinated by the Roman buildings, the Greek buildings and the cathedrals," he explained.

Mr Gent has been selected to study a degree in Architectural Stone at London Arts School from September

Mr Gent was inspired to look into a career as a stonemason during the Coronavirus lockdown, while working as a maintenance engineer.

The university course will teach clay modelling, sculpturing and those "real fine details", he said.

“I just thought 'go for it',” he said. “This is the only arts school that teaches this, if you don’t get in, that’s it, it’s all or nothing."

The 31-year-old, who has Crohn's Disease and a permanent ileostomy bag, said shift work was "pretty much impossible" when trying to manage the condition.

He added: "[But] I’ve been on the chisels for two years... I'm now thinking that I can do this.

“If I’m flared up, I can put my headphones in and I can just concentrate on the stone and chisel away."