Ask Angus Jones what he could build and it seems the sky is the limit: “Anything you want, we can make it. We could even build you a cathedral, if you would like,” said Mr Jones, managing director of AF Jones Stonemasons, based in Ipsden.

While clients are unlikely to come to the firm for anything so ambitious, it has been involved in many prestigious projects in both church and secular buildings.

Mr Jones particularly enjoyed his company’s involvement working for the Churches’ Conservation Trust at All Saints Old Church, Nuneham Courtenay, the 18th-century ‘Palladian temple’, built by the first Lord Harcourt, close to the River Thames.

The Churches’ Conservation Trust cares for churches no longer in regular use, but which are of such historical and architectural importance that they should be preserved.

Others the company has helped restore for the trust are St Peter’s, Wallingford, and Maidenhead Methodist Church.

Mr Jones is the fifth generation of his family to run the business, established in Reading in 1858 by his great-great-grandfather, William Jones.

The company also had premises in Henley for many years and, in 2000, it bought a site in Ipsden to establish another branch in Oxfordshire, providing more space to install new machinery.

The site is also useful as much of the architectural type of work is for clients in Oxford and the surrounding area.

Work on the new yard began in August 2009, and was completed this year. It provided new workshops, new showrooms and a new area for storage.

Recent projects in Oxford include replacement carvings for Oriel College, and work on several of the town houses in Park Town and Norham Gardens, and at a number of churches in the city.

At its original home in Reading, the company has been regularly called upon by the local council and university to carry out work on their listed and historic buildings.

While conservation of older buildings is an important part of the company’s business, so too is the construction of new ones — particularly at the prestige end of the market.

Mr Jones said: “There have been more top-end houses built in the last ten years than in the previous 40.”

The new homes the company has built include a country residence in Hampshire in Bath stone, with a Portland stone staircase and floors, and an exterior of York stone, and a contemporary home in Windsor, which features impressive cantilevered staircases.

Such features are popular. Clients in Notting Hill had a four-flight, cantilevered staircase installed, and a spiral staircase was built for another client in Hampshire. Another interesting property the company has worked on this year in Oxfordshire was the 17th-century manor house at Great Haseley.

It was William Jones’ son, Arthur Frederick Jones, who first gave his name to the company.

Alan Anderson Jones, in the next generation, took over two other companies, a funeral director’s in Henley and a builder’s and funeral director’s in Reading. Arthur introduced the first mechanised circular saw, and Alan brought in the first forklift truck and first computer-controlled saw.

Graham Arthur Jones, who died earlier this year, took over in 1962, and led the business for 30 years before handing over to his son Angus in 1992.

Many staff also have long associations with the company. David Bearfield and Brian Craddock have both worked there for more than 40 years, and Kevin Seymour and Jonathan Griffin — who followed his father Ron’s footsteps — are also long-standing employees.

Now, apprentices spend three years learning the skills of masonry, both in the workshops and at college.

Mr Jones said: “This line of work is well sought-after as a career, so we attract a good calibre of people who want to take it up.”

He describes all the apprentices who have worked their way up through the company as its backbone.

In today’s world, where there have been recent closures in the masonry industry, Mr Jones regards investment as vital.

“You cannot grow without bringing in new technology — it is something you cannot ignore, and you cannot compete unless you put a certain amount of the profit back into the business,” he said.

The new workshops encourage closer integration of traditional skills, with modern computerised machinery for all types of projects.

When the first two computer numerical controlled (CNC) work centres were installed at the Reading yard, they greatly increased production. Now the company has a total of five, two in Reading and three at Ipsden.

A particularly proud achievement is the stone-carving award for craftsmanship which the company received in 1995.

This was for a project the company carried out for Andrew Lloyd-Webber at his home near Newbury. It is a reproduction of the Millais painting Design for a Gothic Window.

Two other examples of note from the company’s history are the installation of a stone effigy by the sculptor Eric Kennington of TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) in a church at Wareham, Dorset, in 1935 and, more recently, a statue for the grounds of Windsor Castle in 1984.

Name: A F Jones Stonemasons Established: 1858 Managing director: Angus Jones Number of staff: 25 Annual turnover: Confidential

Contact: 01491 835032 Web: www.afjones.co.uk