Meet the Gen Z stonemason who restores historical landmarks in Europe damaged during World War II.
Charlie Gee has followed in the footsteps of his father who is also a stonemason.
The 22-year-old specializes in cathedral masonry and has worked on iconic buildings, including the Cologne Cathedral in Germany and the Palace of Justice in Brussels, Belgium.
At the Cologne Cathedral, Charlie oversaw the completion of restoration on the final eight pinnacles atop one of the church’s spires.
He says it’s an “honor and privilege” to work on the historical sites, some of which date back as far as the 13th century.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work on a building that is hopefully going to be there for centuries,” said the Englishman from Bath.
“Cologne Cathedral specifically has been on my bucket list and it’s been a great one to tick off. I was only there for two months but I hope to be returning for a longer period of work soon.
“It’s truly incredible,” Charlie told SWNS news agency. “I really feel the fact that I’m working on a piece of history when I’m at a cathedral like that.”
Watching his father Matthew Gee restore historic landmarks inspired him to follow in his footsteps and become a stonemason.
“When I was five years old, we actually moved from Bath to Tuscany for six years for my dad’s work.
“Living in Italy and seeing my dad work on churches out there inspired me to get involved in the same trade.”
The youth began his studies at Weymouth College at age 15 where he did a three-year stonemasonry course.
After that, he was accepted for a four-year apprenticeship at York Minster where apprentices work alongside part-time classes at York College.
“It was a big deal for me. York Minster has the best cathedral stonemasonry training—as opposed to commercial stonemasonry—in England, and it’s really competitive to get an apprenticeship.
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“The difference between commercial and cathedral stonemasonry is that commercial stonemasons use a lot more power tools and usually want to get the job done as quickly as possible.
“You can see in my videos that I’m always using a mallet and chisel, which is a lot more traditional.” (Watch below…)
Finishing his apprenticeship in late 2023, he has been self-employed ever since. Thanks to his training, he gained access to a global network of cathedrals seeking stonemasons.
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He has also worked on the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, and the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York—also known as York Minster.
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Stonemasons all have a mark which they leave on stones they’ve crafted and Charlie’s is his initials CG. “It’s so special to think your mark is on such an important landmark.
“I hope to bring my future kids one day and be able to point up and tell them that’s my work up there—just like I had with my dad growing up.”
Charlie hopes his videos can get younger people interested in the trade again, like his sister is now. Check out his in-spire-ing work on Instagram and on his YouTube channel.
“There doesn’t seem to be much interest from the younger generation in stonemasonry. I can understand why, because it’s a lot of hard work and training, and each job takes a lot of time and care.
“But I hope that if people see how amazing it is to be working on these sites, they’re more likely to consider it.” (WATCH his videos below via SWNS…)
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