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CRAFT WORK:More than 700 years ago, an Irish sculptor built a cross that came to mark the heart of London. Now sculptor Stephen Burke has followed in his footsteps by restoring its modern counterpart, writes MICHAEL MURRAY-FENNELL

‘DRIPPING WITH ornament” is Stephen Burke’s description of the massive stone cross outside London’s Charing Cross station that he has helped to restore. Over the past 10 months, the 32-year-old Irish sculptor worked high above the capital’s red buses and black taxis, re-creating elements of the cross that were destroyed by decades of pollution and pigeon droppings.