I work on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal, as a full time heritage Mason recently qualified last September. I became a stonemason mainly through my husband found a job application. And I'd come back from university, having done a fine art degree. And I didn't know what to do, to be honest. So I thought what I got to lose I may as well apply for something a little bit different. I'm very, very much practically minded. So it was kind of sort of job where I could do something practical, learn a new skill and apply that to my art. And that's the reason I started doing anyway.
So my day to day job can vary from doing a little bit of repointing on a bridge or wing wall, or it could be restoring the whole thing. So my job's very much about preserving the historical fabric but, also making sure that the customers and tourists can come along and use it as best they can.
Well as a stonemason on the canal the main, the main focus on our job is to make sure that the, the structures are about 100 years old. So we've got to make sure that we preserve them, but using traditional methods, because the traditional methods is in keeping with the listings because a lot of them have got and scheduled ancient monuments status, listed status, so we've got to make sure that everything we do is is right, based on that time. So rather than using conventional methods that a lot of people would use now, we use historical methods so I can cut and dry stone with hammer and chisel. Sometimes we do build new structures, but that's mainly to do with water control. But yeah, day to day will be we could be taken down walls cleaning stone, um getting replacements don't if necessary, and rebuilding, repointing.
The most challenging part of my job I think is getting in in the canal, because we have sections, we have to dewater in order to rebuild the walls. And so yeah, sometimes you're wading through mud to build walls and I sometimes that can be the most frustrating part about it, trying to navigate yourself around. But other than that, I enjoy every minute of it to be honest.
The most enjoyable part of my job would be... would be being able to work outside. It's quite strange for me because I see it as an architectural thing, and I don't think many people see it like that. So I see I've got the best of both worlds, really, I get to be out in nature, but I'm also working on architectural structures. So for me, I would say that's the best part about it.
So I get that asked quite a lot like what's a woman doing that sort of job for? And I don't get offended by that because I understand. You know, we're in quite a historical place people... people are stuck in their ways without even realising and I think think it's quite enlightening for some people to see women doing this job. And, and I think a lot of people ask like generally what are you doing? Excuse my ignorance, but what are you doing and then you just explain, you know, without us repairing this, we could have leaks everywhere and it's built on the side of a mountain. So it's one of the most complex canals there is because it's not on flat ground, you have to manage water control. So what if we, as masons, we can, we can repair, we can keep repairing to make sure that that doesn't happen and make sure that people can keep using the canal because It'd be a shame for it not to be there. And I think it's one of the only, well i say one of the only, one canal that's benefited from not being in a built up area. It's been able to continue being white always once was, and I know the towns have built up like close by but they never they haven't had to have a negative impact on the canal whereas I know, in the Midlands and places like that in more built up areas they do have more problems with vandalism and things like that. So I think we're very lucky that we've got a very well kept canal here.
Well, the canal was built as a response to transportation. So it was pre railway. So it was a means of people transporting their goods from different towns, to make money essentially, but this was done with horses. So horses were driving the boats. And, and where we are, where the Mon and Brec is, like I said before, it's built on the side of a mountain. So it's, it took a while to build, it was a bit more complex. It's a bit more vernacular than some elaborate bridges you see in other places, but that doesn't mean it's, you know, it's any is worth any less. It's a huge part of industrial heritage. And that, you know, that being said, it's important that we keep it because The industrial heritage is linked to a lot of towns along that waterway. So yeah, I would say it's our it's our connection with our past. Absolutely. Particularly with how these towns have built and grown. They've all got that connection with the industrial heritage so the waterway has been able to connect them is fantastic.
I would say the canal is now used as a recreational space, particularly boaters having holidays. But generally I find a lot of people the most people I see are walking their dogs. A lot of cyclists because there's a cycle along the mana Brett canal now it's maintained so that you can cycle on it. And there are fishing sections, but I think I have a license for that. But yeah, generally it's a space where people can go and enjoy. It's free. I see it as an open air museum where you can just access it and you can get to it from most places. It's It's not hard to get to and it's not hard for it's not hard terrain for people to walk. So most people can have a go and do whatever they want to, it's nice for children to go down there, see the wildlife.
I think it's nice to be able to give something back when you've used it yourself because I've always benefited from that space and to be able to work there and give that back. I think that's really, really nice. I think that's probably again another rewarding thing with my job you can you're a local person giving something back to a space that you've you've made use of I guess. Even though I'm a mason by day, I still have an art studio, which I work in and make work from so. Yeah, for me, it was meant to be sort of situation. The work I do as an artist has changed since I moved back to Wales. I did my degree in London. So I was surrounded by a lot of skyscrapers, very interesting buildings, and a lot of pedestrians and I think my work was very much an influence of a crowded space. Now I've moved back home. I'm very much more in tune with nature and I find my work becoming a bit more organic, bit freer and I think that has also stemmed from my masonry, but what's great about Brecon is you can actually just walk onto the canal and if you can connect with the local landscape really quickly, you've got the Brecon Beacons, you've got the canal, you've got the river and it all kind of merge into one when you start walking along there. You can you can kind of get to see all it's great. I'm quite partial to have a mooch around and just have a wander so I yeah, I reckon have a wander and just take in the architecture here because the architecture here is pretty amazing. It's got a good range of different types of architecture from the 18th century. So I think, you know, if you can, if you can spend a day in the pubs and things you can have, well, I enjoy looking at windows and things because I can see how they're made different shapes. And you can tell a lot by building from as little details and I think if you could spend your time looking at those, you get a lot of reward from that. There's quite a lot of pubs in well there used to be quite a lot of pubs in Brecon and if they're not pubs now you can still see by looking at them that they might have been a pub or they might have been at this or might have been a that. So yeah, I think I think even though built building change and the occupation of those buildings change, they don't change externally. So, as a visitor to Brecon, you can still enjoy it for what it was even if it's being used as somewhere to live if it's not a pub or, things like that. So yeah, I think it's a gem in terms of its architectural, architectural aspect yeah definitely.