Alan Thewlis began his working life as a gardener, going on to build dry stone walls for a landscaping company in the Cotswolds.  This led him to study masonry, stonecarving and lettercutting at Weymouth College. following which he worked in masonry yards in London and Oxford before becoming self-employed in 1994, initially assisting Alec Peever and occasionally Martin Jennings.  Alan established his own workshop in Oxfordshire in 1998, and was awarded a Crafts Council Setting-Up Grant in 2000.

Alan has executed commissions for private clients and Oxford colleges, and has collaborated on a memorial to Sir Joseph Banks in Lincoln Cathedral.  He has recently started to work with metal - projects include bronze memorial medals for Corpus Christi College, Oxford.