High Raised Stone Letter Carving

August 26, 2020

High Raised Stone Letter Carving

High Raised Stone Letter Carving

I have just finished a gravestone plaque in The Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh where I was required to use high raised stone letter carving. I was asked to add additional names and dates to an old limestone plaque dating from 1925 when this type of letter carving was more common.

I thought about the previous craftsman who had carved the wording above. Who was he, I wondered, so asked the superintendent of the cemetery who had all the information about the plaque with the name of the stone mason and date of when the work was done.

High raised stone letter carving is bold and strong and lasts well. It is particularly good when used on granite, and you can find high raised stone letter carving on many of the old Scottish headstones because this type of lettering lasts well in the Scottish climate.

High raised stone letter carving is rather like relief carving. You need to carve out all the stone around the letters to make the wording stand out. I first drew out the design on paper measuring and spacing out each letter or number and then transferred the design onto the stone by hand.

As I was adding additional words and numbers to an original plaque, I had to use the same design as the previous mason which meant that all the measurements needed to be the same as the wording above.

With a hammer and tungsten chisel, I refined the shapes of the letters and numbers, flattening them out and texturing the background to make them stand out which gave a smooth finish. The plaque was then cleaned and restored.

Simon Burns-Cox, Sculptor and Letter Carver

Simon Burns-Cox is a Sculptor and Letter Carver based at The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop in Edinburgh, Scotland. He makes bespoke handcarved Gravestones, Memorials, Headstone and Plaques in all sizes and dimensions. If you would like to discuss your requirements further, please contact Simon through his website link below. All work can be done online with detailed drawings available. Simon Burns-Cox can be contacted at http://simonburnscox.co.uk/or [email protected]

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