Carved at the Castle Experience

About

Northern Ireland has a wealth of historic buildings, many of them made of stone. Glenarm Castle itself, for instance. Which just happens to sit next door to Carved at the Castle’s workshop.

There’s a variety of fascinating stonework classes on offer here, offering hands-on lessons about the traditional use of stone in building and carving. Discover how stone has shaped the local landscape. Find out how to maintain it. Or even how to apply lime mortars for pointing. You can play a part in the restoration of the historic Glenarm Estate.

The day begins with a meet and greet. There’s a short presentation on what will happen during the class and what materials and tools will be used. Then the classes begin with a demonstration of the various techniques involved. After this, you’ll be encouraged to try your hand yourself. Never fear, you’ll get all the guidance you need! If you choose the letter carving class, you’ll get to take home a sample of your own handiwork too.

The experience uses stone, a natural and sustainable product of the land, and all the stone used in these classes is sourced in Ulster. In fact the piece you’ll be working with in the carving class comes from a quarry located just 500m from the workshop. 

The Carved at the Castle experience is on a mission to awaken a passion for traditional construction methods. You'll leave with an understanding of how traditional skills are crucial for maintaining our built heritage and a knowledge of what it takes to keep those skills alive. After this session, who knows? Perhaps you’ll be inspired to start your own building project!