CWO is delighted to announce that Site Supervisor Dennis Jones has been named the first-ever recipient of the prestigious Project Craftsman of the Year Award, a new category in this year’s Duke of Gloucester Awards organised by the Worshipful Company of Masons.

London Metropolitan University student Priscilla Fernandes has been unanimously chosen as the winner of this year’s fiercely-contested Architecture Student Design Award 2009. The final judging took place  before a panel of ten judges and the completed bench will be unveiled in December.

CWO is delighted to announce that apprentice stonemason Oli Clack has been awarded a Medallion of Excellence at the skills equivalent of the Olympics – the WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada.

At CWO we pride ourselves on our training and development, although this has never been formally recognised.  However in September 2008 a conscious decision was made to work towards Investors in People accreditation, which was achieved in August 2009.

CWO apprentice stonemason Oli Clack has proved he is world class by winning a place in the international WorldSkills 2009 competition, to be held in Calgary, Canada on 2-6th September.

CWO is pleased to announce that David Baily has been appointed to Operations Director as of July 2009. David, who previously held the position of London Manager, will be working with CWO to help grow the business and position the company as first choice for Principal Contractor within the refurbishment and restoration field.

CWO is the proud recipient of the RoSPA President's Award 2009 for outstanding performance in occupational health and safety over a period of 10 years, for the fourth year running. CWO remain fully committed to safety across the business.

CWO and St. Ann's Gate Architects of Salisbury have successfully completed works to Westminster Cathedral’s west front entrance steps. The project, titled ‘Access for All’, involved the remodelling and extension of the main entrance area to provide new disabled access ramps and steps.

CWO have successfully completed a £4.5 million restoration project to the Monument, London’s memorial to The Great Fire of London and the world’s tallest isolated stone column. The Monument, a popular tourist attraction and national treasure, re-opened to the public at noon on Monday 16th February 2009.

CWO are celebrating after being presented with the prestigious Repair & Restoration Award at the Natural Stone Awards 2008, which took place at the iconic Lords Cricket Ground in London on Friday 21st November 2008.

CWO celebrated a milestone in the £4.5m restoration of the Monument, funded by the City of London Corporation, as on Saturday 11th October 2008 the balustrade and framework for the new cage were craned into place at the top of the 61m Portland stone column.

As part of the major restoration works at the Monument funded by the City of London Corporation, CWO was commissioned to replace four ornately carved paterae to the underside of the viewing platform.

Award winning CWO (Cathedral Work’s Organisation Ltd) scooped two key Sussex Heritage Awards 2008 at the ceremony held on Friday 11th July in recognition of the specialist stonemasons’ significant restoration and conservation achievements as the company continues to preserve and even save the region’s historic landmarks.

CWO Managing Director, Bernard Burns was recently interviewed by the Telegraph, as CWO became a case study for their Business Club section. In the article Bernard discusses the Management Buy Out in October 2006, a the progress CWO has made since then, it's plans for the future and the challenges it still faces.

CWO Operations Manager and member of the MBO Team, Richard Mitchell proves he is just as skilled a crafsman when it comes to carpentry as he is with stone. A Freeman of the City of London and a member of the Worshipful Company of Masons, Richard is also a steam enthusiast and has build an Edwardian Gentleman's steam launch completely from scratch.

CWO is the proud recipient of the RoSPA President's Award 2008 for outstanding performance in occupational health and safety over a period of 10 years, for the third year running. CWO was also awarded the RoSPA Silver MORR Award for the second year. CWO remain fully committed to safety across the business.

CWO Managing Director, Bernard Burns, is pleased to announce that with effect from 1st April 2008, David Baily will re-join the business. His principal role will be London Manager and he will have overall responsibility for the London operations.

CWO’s workshop in Chichester has some of the most advanced stone cutting machinery in the industry. To further enhance our ability to provide quality stone products and to increase the turnaround of our stone  supply we have made a major investment  by the addition of a new Breton Speedycut saw, considered by many to be the best of modern stone technology.

CWO are currently carrying out large scale restoration works to the chapel, which is situated within the grounds of the presigious Lancing College. The works consist, amoungst other things, of restoration to the tracery windows to the North and South sides, and are due to complete in August 2008.

Only one year on from CWO’s MBO, CWO has proved that it remains a major industry name. This month alone, CWO has gained recognition from the Worshipful Company of Masons, the Stone Federation Great Britain and Skillbuild for its work in conservation and the quality of its masons. 

CWO Ltd are pleased to welcome Vincent Tourle, Contracts Manager into the management team from 1st October 2007. Vincent lives close to Tunbridge Wells, and has joined to spearhead CWO’s expansion into Kent by establishing a customer service facility at Goudhurst near Cranbrook.

Bernard Burns, CWO Managing Director, is pleased to announce the following promotions to strengthen the CWO Management Team, following the Management Buy Out from Geoffrey Osborne Limited in October 2006.

CWO Ltd win the £4.5m City of London restoration contract to the Monument to the Great Fire of London. The Monument is one of the City of London’s most outstanding landmarks and visitor attractions and will be closed for an 18-month programme of improvements and repairs. 

One of the most historic sites in London has become home to a stunning urban bench. The Portland Stone creation is the winning entry in a highly innovative competition launched by CWO, the City of London Corporation and Albion Stone Plc to encourage up-and-coming architects to develop a vision for open-space seating in the City and develop precious stonemasonry skills among young apprentices.

CWO offers three CPD presentations, Natural Stone Technical Presentation, Relocation of Temple Bar and Use of Lime in Building (From a Contractors Perspective). These are presented by one of our Directors, usually accompanied by a colleague and take approximtely one hour.

The Hallmarque scheme came into effect earlier this year to tie in with the changing of European standards in August. CWO was one of the first SFGB companies to gain this accreditation, and were awarded our certificate when we attended the Natural Stone Show 2006, which took place in March.

CWO were privalidged to win the RoSPA President's Award for outstanding performance in occupational health and safety over a period of 10 years. CWO were also recipients of the President's Award in 2006, and continue to be fully commited to safety across the company.

CWO were a big success at the prestigious Natural Stone Awards this year as four of their projects gained recognition. CWO, which was recently purchased by its management team from previous owners Geoffrey Osborne Ltd, received two Awards and a further three Commendations across four of the eight categories.