He was an indentured apprentice signing up at the then Diocese Office in the basement of No 12 The College. He was a Lord Crew Apprentice being one of the last to be employed at the Cathedral.
Over the four years of his apprenticeship he was slowly given his own work to do, at first with other masons to gain experience, and eventually set to work on his own projects. He worked his way up from being the youngest craftsman until in 1994 he became the Cathedral safety representative. In the same year he was made chargehand mason and ran projects as leader of a team. He was then appointed Cathedral Yard Foreman a role which included helping the Clerk of Works. When the Clerk of Works, Bob Matthews, took early retirement due to ill health Iain was offered the job on a full time basis which he duly accepted. He was then appointed Works Manager at the Cathedral, a position which he holds at the present time. Iain says that this is a job which he could have only dreamed of when he first joined as an apprentice.
When Iain completed his apprenticeship he did not appreciate that this qualified him to become a Freeman. However, in 2004 he was contacted by Roger Norris, the then Chairman of Trustees, who suggested that he should apply. This he duly did and joined the Curriers’ under John Heslop who he has now succeeded as Warden.
Iain and his wife Jaquie have three daughters all of whom are currently in the process of becoming Freemen and thus establishing a family tradition.
