Hi SuzieI am a plasterer too! I was a sculptor and moldmaker first, and then got better, and better at plaster.
A fellow Englishwomen shares your love of the lime -Jocasta Innes, and she wrote a book in 1995 called "Applied Artistry". Unfortunately she is a painter, and tries, unsuccessfully, to duplicate plaster finishes with paint. There are many other books I can recommend, but on an apprentice budget you should be able to find this one in the library, used, or as a "remainder" at a book shop. You won't regret the search.
The Victorian era saw the introduction of molds(gelatin molds), to the plaster trades. In older times all the fine plasterwork was mostly hand modelled with lime putty/plaster/sand (stucco & gesso). The use of molds first of all lost a lot of detail from the modelled pieces, second of all, fell in the hands of the unskilled and greedy, and thirdly, caused the use of 100% gypsum plaster moldings (for speed) which gave plaster the reputation of being weak, fussy and difficult to repair. Almost all plasterwork in America is of this method. The old plaster artists such as George Bankart died out, and then ornamental plaster died out. You can tell I am not a fan of Victorian plaster - the introduction of "improved industrial techniques" killed a tradition which survived thousands of years until that point.
You will have to visit Harwicke Hall, there is a lot of English lime stucco plaster there from the 15th (??) century- still standing stronger and harder than real marble. Also search out "The Lime Centre" somewhere in England, and on the Web.
