Following many months of hard work by St Martin's PCC as well as by designers, architects, stone masons with help from Grayshott Pottery, repairs to the East Horsley mausoleum, housing the final resting place of William, the Earl of Lovelace, have finally been completed.

The Earl, who was the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey for much of the Victorian era, stamped his mark on Surrey, and indeed the village of East Horsley, by creating what is described by author Stephen Tudsbery-Turner in his book 'William Earl of Lovelace 1805-1893', as the 'architectural extravaganza of Horsley Towers and a model estate village'.

Certainly, the typical 'Lovelace' buildings have unique, ornate, red and black brick and tile-work characteristics and distinctive feature inserts of grey and black flint. Some examples, such as 'Conisbee's', East Horsley's family butcher, display neo-Norman windows and doorways and it is these and other 'castle like' features that set the village architecture apart and make the eastern entrance to the village, via the Epsom Road and Ockham Road South, a memorable one.

Chris Anstey, who took part in the recent renovation work and led the stone-mason team, said, 'This has been a wonderful project to work on. The village is steeped with history and I have to say that I have long admired Lord Lovelace's skills as an engineer and architect. However, as far as the renovation is concerned, although the brickworks and kilns have long since disappeared from East Horsley we have been fortunate in getting help from both Grayshott Pottery near Hindhead and from Swallow Tiles in Cranleigh, who have kindly made us black replacement string course units and unglazed brick decorative pieces to replace the broken and worn ones.'

Glenn Myers, Production Manager from Grayshott Pottery said, '"The staff at Grayshott Pottery are delighted to have been able to help with this very worthwhile project. It is wonderful to see the building fully restored again after all the hard work by the different groups in East Horsley".

Lord Lovelace appears to have had a long history with East Horsley and he made his mark on local agriculture, engineering and village architecture. He bought Horsley Towers in 1840 when the estate included, not only a blacksmiths, but a brickyard and kilns too. In fact in 1851, Lord Lovelace was said to have received official recognition for his practical brick making skills when he won a medal at the 'Great Exhibition' in Crystal Palace. This famous exhibition which welcomed around 6 million visitors and lasted a staggering 141 days, created a stage for British manufacturing and industry of the time and featured manufactured items from silk shawls to hydraulic presses.

The modern 'Gothic style' of architecture as displayed in East Horsley was widely accepted and admired by many Victorians of the time and following his extensive renovations at Horsley Towers, (now a 'De Vere Venues' hotel and conference centre), Lord Lovelace set about making 'Gothic' changes to many buildings in and around the village during the 1860s. These included renovations to St Martin's Church and to the village Inn (The Duke of Wellington), the building of a new village school (now office accommodation) and two shops (One 'Connisbees' as mentioned above and the other now a private house) and he then renovated or built many new cottages and houses within his estate, marking each project with a Lovelace 'coat of arms', somewhere within the brickwork.

Today, the carefully restored 19th century brick and tile mausoleum still pays tribute to the engineering skills of the Earl. The mausoleum which houses the body of William, Earl of Lovelace and that of his second wife can be found in a quiet, leafy corner in the grounds of St Martins Church in East Horsley.

For further information about Grayshott Pottery please contact Glenn Myers (Production Manager) on 01428 604404.