As an Abergavenny man prepared for a trip to the City of London to accept ‘the honour of a lifetime’ from the Lord Mayor, thieves broke into his van and robbed him of the precious tools of his trade.

Stuart Keenor has been granted the title of Master Plasterer - an honour bestowed by the City and Guilds and the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers - for his work for more than 30 years on historical buildings.

Only 15 plasterers have ever received the award, which is the highest that can be achieved by any tradesperson, and Stuart is one of just two in Wales.

The certificate was presented by the Lord Mayor at Livery Hall, London Bridge on Monday February 15, along with the Freedom of the City.

Stuart was joined at the ceremony by representatives from a number of other ancient trades including stone masons and blacksmiths. He was one of only two plasterers to receive the award this year, the other based in Leicester.

Stuart described it as ‘a real accolade - recognition of a lifetime’s work’.

The ceremony just happened to fall the day after Valentine’s Day and Stuart had arranged to travel up to London on the Sunday for a romantic meal with his wife Deborah and overnight stay in a posh hotel.

But he woke up at his home near Abergavenny that morning to find his van door open and all his tools stolen.

“I’ve had those tools since I was an apprentice,” he said. “A lot of them are small, handmade tools for getting into nooks and crannies. They’re of no use to anyone else. The annoying thing is that the thieves will probably sell the larger things like drills - which you can easily pick up on e-Bay - and throw the rest away.”

His frustration at this seemingly pointless crime, however, failed to spoil the Lord Mayor’s show…

The couple still enjoyed an evening out in London and a stay in a luxury hotel before heading for the City on Monday, where Stuart, after receiving his certificate, was enrolled on the register of Master Plasterers.

During 34 years in the trade Stuart has undertaken a wide variety of contracts.

For 14 years he worked on some major projects abroad, including the external facade mouldings of the Federal Government Press Office (Bundespresseamt) in Berlin.

He also worked on the world famous Lutheran church in Dresden known as The Frauenkirche, which features one of the largest domes in Europe.

Built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during World War II and the ruins left for 50 years as a war memorial. But the church was rebuilt after the reunification of Germany, starting in 1994, with the church finally reconsecrated on October 30 2005.

Nearer to home Stuart recently worked on the external lime rendering of cottages belonging to the Duchy of Cornwall. He has also worked on repairs to an historic church at Garenew near Monmouth and external moulding work at Hill Lodge in Abergavenny.

He is currently undertaking internal plasterwork repairs at Hill Lodge and internal lime work on a 17th century property at Llanarth known as Pitt House.

Stuart’s two sons have followed him into the plastering trade and help him out on some of his bigger projects.

“I’m passionate about keeping the tradition alive,” he said. “I never waste a chance to persuade people that it’s better to use lime, sand and horse hair in old buildings than to choke them with sand, cement and water proofer!”

If anyone reading this story comes across some small, odd-looking tools abandoned in a ditch or a rubbish bin, Stuart would be grateful if they’d hand them in to Abergavenny police!