But as someone who has been through more than one recession and as the head of one of the world's oldest construction firms, he is confident about William Anelay's future.

He said: "The firm has survived a long time, so it has been through this scenario goodness knows how many times. It's not new to any of us.

"Resilience comes out of the fact that we are flexible and adaptable and we don't have all our eggs in one basket. We work in a number of market places."

The York and Manchester-based firm repairs and restores properties nationally, including abbeys, churches, stately homes, historic industrial premises and arboretums and has won dozens of awards from bodies including civic trusts and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Its projects include work on Wentworth Castle and Stainborough Park Gardens in South Yorkshire, and the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough.

The company was also the principal contractor for the first phase of restoration works to the Victoria Baths in Manchester, which recently won the BBC's Restoration challenge.

However, Mr Carter has had to make some tough decisions in recent months, including making 13 permanent staff redundant at the end of last year.Other jobs are being lost through natural wastage as employees leave without being replaced. The firm, which has a turnover of £17m, currently has 105 staff.

But Mr Carter is philosophical about the actions he has taken. "You can't go through the recession without making difficult decisions which you know have the potential to cause other people problems," he said.

"You have to be prepared to disassociate yourself with the personal aspect and look at the survivability of the business.

"It's very much about shaping the business to be able to survive and look ahead."

Funding for restoration projects is currently the main challenge for the company. Funding streams for restoration work are slow-moving because they rely heavily on grant aid through sources such as English Heritage, and the Lottery fund.

Mr Carter said: "Historic buildings have a tendency to come slowly into recession and take longer to come out of it."

The result is that the market place is now much more competitive than ever, with a queue of companies chasing a small pool of contracts.

Mr Carter added: "We are seeing a return to people wanting high-quality work done at a very cheap price with no real regard for skills that companies like us have.

"We are seeing an influx of other people thinking they can do our type of work but they don't have the level of skill that is required and they are relying heavily on subcontractors rather than their own in-house skills and driving prices further and further down.

"It can't be good in the long term because we invest heavily in training and apprenticeship schemes.

"We won't have spare funds available to be able to invest if prices are too low."

William Anelay is now concentrating on smaller building projects to keep the workforce busy. Mr Carter said he is looking to turn over more work in return for lower overheads and profits. He added: "It is about surviving rather than making any money out of it."

But one area where Mr Carter is reluctant to compromise is apprenticeships. The company currently has seven apprentices at various stages and is continuing to recruit one or two every year.

He said: "We feel it is vital to keep the workforce at a strength and continue the skill base. There is a danger that you can lose some of your own apprentices to other companies once you have trained them
but it's a risk we feel we are prepared to take."

Mr Carter joined William Anelay as a senior estimator in 1995. Three years ago, he became managing director following a management buyout after it was acquired from family ownership for the first time since its foundation in 1747.

Charles Anelay, an eighth- generation descendant of Thomas Anelay, became special projects director in the new management team.

Mr Carter's childhood dream was to join the merchant navy but after failing the eye test he became a building student at Shepherd Construction.

After starting off as a joiner he went on to become an estimator and moved around various construction companies in and around Leeds.

He says the highlights of his career include meeting Prince Charles at Gorton Monastery and Victoria Baths in Manchester, both projects
which William Anelay had worked on.

When it comes to buildings he admits to being a traditionalist at heart but believes that modern construction techniques have a part to play in restoration and refurbishment. "It's more a question of mixing the two together," he said.

Away from the office, Mr Carter, who celebrated his 50th birthday this year, enjoys being in the countryside and spending time with his partner and three children, the youngest of whom has just taken her GCSEs.

He also recently took up fly fishing as a way of relaxing and spending more time outdoors.

Looking to the year ahead, he believes William Anelay will have to ride out the recession before experiencing any significant growth.

"We will be trying to keep our head above water over the next year, keeping the message out there that we are still here and in business and looking to get through this as a strong business as I'm sure everyone else is," he said.

He added: "Our aim is to come out of it and be ready for another 260 years."

VERNON CARTER-THE CV

Title: Managing director

Date of birth: April 25, 1959

Education: Beckfield Lane secondary school, York

First job: Building student at Shepherd Construction

Favourite song: Human, The Killers

Car driven: Audi A5

Favourite film: I don't really watch many films but the most recent film I enjoyed was Slumdog Millionaire

Favourite holiday destination: Barbados

Last book read: Monty Halls' Great Escape, by
Monty Halls

What I am most proud of: Being involved in a business that works to preserve our building heritage.