Category: Blog

Here at Hanbeck Natural Stone, we understand the importance stone can make to your garden- a sharp, ugly edge can really take away from the beauty of your plants & flowers.

Lincolnshire Limestone has been used to create some of the most iconic landscaping features in England, and we are proud to have supplied it for many of our previous projects. Our stone has been used on prestigious projects such as Lincoln Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral and the Peterborough Cathedral. 

Our stone is also popular with stone masons and other craftsmen thanks to its easy workability. Lincolnshire Limestone can be used to create a variety of beautiful landscaping features, from walls and patios to sculptures and fountains, and with its timeless quality you’ll always have an amazing garden you can sit back and relax in. If you’re looking for a material that will stand the test of time, our stone is an excellent choice.

What do stonemasons do? 

There are two types of stonemason. Banker masons are generally workshop-based and use a
mixture of tools to shape stones either for new designs or to replace an existing stone. For
example they may work on stone carvings, with our stone being used for high profile carvings at
Lincoln Cathedral.

Fixer masons work on site installing the stones into place that have been shaped by the banking
process. They will usually have an expert understanding of specialist fixings and lime mortars.
Often stonemasons will carry out both banker and fixer roles, particularly if they are self-
employed or work for a small company. All stonemasons require a dependable supply of high
quality stone with enough variety to fit the bill for very different types of job.
Our stone is quarried, transported less than a mile and then cropped and prepared ready for the
stonemason to carry out the necessary work for the stone to be put to use.

The beauty of natural stone

A poor choice of hard landscaping elements can ultimately detract from the garden design itself.
Cheap slabs, ugly fences and concrete can all give a garden a hard, uncompromising edge that
all the planting in the world can’t do much to soften. With the right choice of hard landscaping
materials, however, you can create a seamless design where the different elements
complement and enhance each other to perfect effect.
At Hanbeck, we work with world famous Lincolnshire Limestone, that’s given homes, major
public buildings and some of the greatest gardens in England and beyond their distinctive looks.
Right across England’s limestone ridge you’ll find world famous gardens such as Kiftsgate,
Hidcote Manor and the gardens at Burghley House, where limestone features in paving slabs,
walls, loose stone and larger landscape features.

The raw stone, a mix of all shapes and sizes passes through various stages in our purpose-built facility, but only after each individual piece has been inspected for quality and its suitability to make any one of the various components a “Waller” may need before being conveyed for further processing.

7. Think about sustainability 

2. Consider your project

Local stone and expertise

Travel around Britain and you’ll encounter dry stone walls that enclose fields. Today, they’re generally more common in upland areas and in places that have been less intensively farmed. They’re still common in the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria as well as Devon and Cornwall and the Cotswolds.

Lincolnshire isn’t as readily associated with dry stone walling as other counties, but you can still find miles of Lincolnshire limestone dry stone walling right across the county. Increasingly, it’s being used in domestic gardens and other building projects to add local character and texture.

Dry stone walls reflect the geological diversity of the country. A limestone dry stone wall in Gloucestershire will not only look different to a granite wall in Devon, it will also look different from a limestone wall in Yorkshire. Although there are broad similarities in the techniques used to create walls across the country, local expertise can result in subtle differences in how the materials are handled, prepared and laid.

Outdoor Living Areas

Better Homes and Gardens website says it best; “Whether you’re cooking, exercising, or just hanging out, plan to spend more time outside this year as backyards, decks, and patios evolve into comfortable, well-equipped extensions of the home.”

Why not consider adding a fire pit or a pizza oven to help take outdoor entertainment to a whole new level? Or add a gazebo, pergola or even a semi-permanent bell-tent to help you shelter from the sun? Then add fairy lights and cosy, textured blankets and cushions for that uber-modern look.

Stone is used for building across the globe. The oldest rocks on earth have been dated to 4 billion years, and all stone gains its characteristics over many millennia. The earth is continually engaged in a process of rock building and re-generation. Stone that gets used in the building process can ultimately be reused again and again. A good example of this is the legacy of monasteries and abbeys across England. After they were dissolved during the reign of Henry VIII much of the stone found its way into the buildings of local people, both grand and humble, where it can still be found today.

Providing quality stone for housebuilders

Increasingly, builders and developers are looking to build homes that are rooted in the local landscape and reflect local traditions. As a result, builders are turning to natural stone for their choice of materials. Natural stone is a growing market for housebuilders and there are many good reasons for this. These include…