The Heritage Lottery Fund has
set up a £4m emergency fund to train apprentices in ancient skills such as
flint knapping, pargeting and dry stone walling.
A shortage of trained
manpower is delaying restoration projects by bodies such as English Heritage
and the National Trust. In one project stonemasons had to be sourced from Europe
due to a lack of skilled British workers.
Other
dying disciplines to be targeted by the training scheme include thatching,
stonemasonry, gold leafing and hedge-laying.
Yesterday, English
Heritage advertised for a court jester for the first
time in 350 years.
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By Mike Berry
