'Beyond Graffiti': waymarking through time & the role of milestones in our heritage

'Beyond Graffiti': waymarking through time & the role of milestones in our heritage

Young person putting their newly gained stone carving skills into practice
Young person putting their newly gained stone carving skills into practice

Our Heritage

Ashbrow
Kirklees
The Milestone Society
£32100
Beyond Graffiti taught stone working skills and local history awareness to a new generation of craftsmen to safeguard the future of Kirklees’ waymarkers.

To encourage a new generation to understand and care for Kirklees’ milestones, the Beyond Graffiti project taught stone carving, dry stone walling skills and local history awareness to 76 participants, aged 16-24, which included Kirklees College students and Council Streetscene apprentices.

Guided by a professional sculptor, the stone carvings and artworks produced were showcased in an exhibition at Oakwell Hall before forming a permanent trail in Dewbsury Park.

To share the learning further, volunteers researched the history of local milestones and held 15 family workshops for children aged 8-12 and parents exploring the past through creative writing, heritage and craft work. Popular public event days at Oakwell Hall shared the learning through costumed volunteers, music, films and have-a-go sessions. 

Jan Scrine, group chair, said: “Dry stone walling is a dying art and this area is crying out for it with so many farms with stone walls. The students’ formal training often involved building brick walls and then demolishing them. Carving stone meant that they created something lasting.”