A FAMILY business based in Somerset, Artorius Faber oversees every aspect of a stone’s journey, from quarry to installation in some of the most beautiful houses in the UK and around the world. With 30 years’ experience, its highly skillled and knowledgeable team offers a fully bespoke service, which includes advice on choosing the right stone for specific purposes, from beautiful bathrooms, staircases and terraces to high-profile projects at Westminster Abbey, Cliveden and Annabel’s.
What are the attractions of using British stone?
For a small island, we have a huge variety of stone that offers a unique opportunity to create a sense of place, particularly when it is sourced from a local quarry. Alternatively, our clients choose stone from the area in which they were born, which creates an emotional resonance. Often, they will visit the quarry or see the stone blocks selected for a project, which allows them to engage fully in the process of creating stonework, from design through to installation. There is such an amazing breadth of choice; some types of limestone can be transformed with a high polish into something that would challenge the best European marbles, notably Ashburton, Rose Tor and Serpentine.
Britain has beautiful stones, such as Portland, Purbeck and York. Which others will enhance an interior?
There are hundreds to choose from. Among our favourites are Rose Tor, a pinky red, veined limestone from Devon; Hardwick, a hard-wearing grey limestone with subtle veining; Ancaster, a pale, biscuit-coloured limestone with a subtle pink undertone and small fossil markings; and Green Slate from the Lake District.
What are the environmental benefits?
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
