The present building dates mainly from the reign of King Henry III but there has been much alteration and restoration over the centuries with refacing works by the notable architect Sir Christopher Wren and others. The maintenance team at Westminster Abbey have a huge task of ensuring the mission and value of the church run as intended with the nation’s eyes firmly
upon it regularly. Apprentices from the team are studying hard to improve their craft in joinery and historic building principles to undertake their work to the expected excellence Westminster commands.

Meet an Apprentice at Westminster Abbey:

Stefan Feroiu

“I started at Westminster in 2014 as a general maintenance assistant, working my way up to multi-trade supervisor. I have worked on historic locks, carpentry in the quire stalls, pews and some of the historic fabric. I have installed a memorial plaque when the mason’s needed assistance. Timing was critical because it was needed in time for a press conference which was time sensitive. The team worked together to get the job done.

This old lock has failed to lock/unlock properly, and I had to open it to see what was wrong with it. The lever jumped out of its swinging pin because the plate inside holding the mechanism had a loose screw, allowing a gap between the bolt and the lever. The lock is now back in service, and security is restored.”