A ‘not to be missed’ evening of lectures from Master Carver, Alan Lamb, honorary member of The Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers in the City of London, Dr Lee Prosser, Buildings Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and Tony Webb, past president of the Master Carvers’ Association and former Master Carver at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Alan Lamb presents his talk ‘Wren’s Woodcarvers – Genius and Rivalry in 17th Century London’s Carving Workshops. The church provides a unique opportunity to examine Gibbons’ carving in the context of work by lesser known but highly accomplished rivals. Alan will be talking about the carvings, the carvers, and the workshop techniques used to produce this astounding work in the context of Christopher Wren’s London. The talk will also consider some of the issues and techniques involved in the conservation of seventeenth-century wood carving.

The second talk is being delivered by Dr Lee Prosser, Buildings Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and contributing author to the book ‘Kensington Palace: Art, Architecture and Society’.  He will look at the work of Grinling Gibbons and other carvers at Kensington Palace. Research in the last few years has transformed our understanding of how these carvings were integrated into the historic interiors of the palace and his talk will trace the process of conservation and how this has altered our perception of them’.

The third and final speaker is Tony Webb, past president of the Master Carvers’ Association and former Master Carver at St Paul’s Cathedral. He will be talking about his life’s work as a Gibbons carver.