Sarah's interest in historic properties began when studying History of Art at the Royal Latin School in Buckinghamshire where she grew up. Through understanding how the country's great buildings were built and furnished and the reasoning behind their design, she had a greater respect for their creators and understood why it is important to maintain these buildings for future generations. They not only instill a sense of national identity but they also provide a level of achievement that inspire architects and designers to this day.
From Buckingham she moved to Portsmouth where she began studying for her degree in Restoration and Decorative Studies at Portsmouth University. Within her first year she had grasped the basics in a variety of traditional decorative techniques including faux finishing, gilding and scagliola. In her final two years she decided to focus her studies on woodcarving and plasterwork- both in a restorative sense and in creating new designs using traditional materials and methods.
During her time at University she was provided with the opportunity to hone her skills in both woodcarving and plasterwork. Her projects included 3-coat lime plastering, using the lime plaster she'd made from scratch using traditional recipes. She researched the historic and almost extinct technique of freehand stucco work, creating her own designs and experimenting with various recipes, including those that were used in the restoration of Uppark in Hampshire. And finally she converted an old oak church lectern into a drinks cabinet which involved creating a new carved design that blended in with the existing elaborate carved work.
Thankfully all that hard work paid off and she graduated with a 1st Class Honours. Sadly her year was the last to complete this course as the University decided to end it in back in 2008.
From Hampshire she was on the move again, this time to Shropshire where she began work with a heritage company. Here she built upon her project managing skills and learnt more about the structural side of building restoration, particularly timber framed buildings.
Whilst she enjoyed her time in Shropshire, she decided that she was much happier in her workshop among the sawdust and plaster, which leads her to her current home back in Hampshire, living with her husband Tom and Digby the Dog.
Please feel free to contact Sarah either by email or by phone if you wish to discuss any restoration/design work. Sarah's wood workshop is in Liss just outside Petersfield, almost anything can be carved in timber so please feel free to send any pictures of designs so that Sarah can put together a quote for you.
