Tim Tatton-Brown has drawn Sherds’ attention to the obituaries that were published in several newspapers last month for the late Trev (Treleven) Haysom (1942-2023), who was, says Tim, ‘a great mentor of mine’. Tim helped Trev obtain planning permission from Dorset County Council to extract Purbeck marble that has since been used in a number of high-profile building conservation projects, including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey and for the repair of the abbey’s Cosmatesque pavements (see CA 359).
Opening a new quarry in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is difficult, if not impossible, but it helped that 11 generations of Trev’s family had been working Purbeck stone in an unbroken line dating back to 1698. Walter Haysom, Trev’s father, replaced all the 12th-century Purbeck marble columns at the Temple Church in London and renovated the tombs of the Knights Templar after they had suffered in the Blitz. As his father’s apprentice, young Trev helped to restore the medieval screen at Chichester Cathedral. His son, Mark Haysom, now continues the business, which has grown to include five active Purbeck quarries.
In 2020, Trev published the definitive book on the subject: Purbeck Stone (Dovecote Press), based on a lifetime spent talking to older generations of Purbeck masons and researching all aspects of the industry. He explains that Purbeck marble, so highly prized by medieval masons, is not marble at all – it is a limestone composed of billions of tiny, fossilised snails.
