Sudbury stone carving business Luxstone celebrates 30th year milestone

After leaving school, Neil Luxton decided to pursue a career which involved mastering an old-age craft.

At the age of 16, he was hired as an apprentice by his father, Donald, who taught him the art of stone letter carving.

“I left school just before my sixteenth birthday and then worked with my father for several years to learn the trade,” said Mr Luxton, who lives in Ballingdon Street, Sudbury.

Keen to develop his knowledge in stonemasonry, Mr Luxton decided to go self-employed.

“I wanted to branch out on my own and learn a lot more,” he said. “In those days, there wasn’t a lot of colleges teaching the trade, so I had to learn from others in the business.”

While securing projects across the country, Mr Luxton became well-established in the trade.

“I gained a good reputation,” said the father-of-three.

In 1990, he set up his own business, Luxstone, specialising in monumental and architectural carving based in Burnham on Crouch in Essex.

After moving to Sudbury in 1990, he operated his business from a unit at Stour Valley Business Centre, before moving to a studio in Brundon Lane.

Marking the business’s 30th milestone this year, Mr Luxton highlighted the importance of creating a welcoming environment for his clients.

“We pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable,” he said.

In 1997, Mr Luxton was appointed as an in-house stonemason at Highgate Cemetery in north London.

He has created and designed memorials for well-known figures including Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, television presenter Jeremy Beadle and artist Patrick Caulfield whose headstone contains carved out hollow letters spelling dead.

“He must have had a laugh with his wife,” said Mr Luxton, who was commissioned to craft the unique memorial from a sketch created by the artist.

“I had to turn it into reality, it was quite a lot of pressure,” he said, adding that the bold design had drawn a mixed response.

“People were saying surely you can’t have that on a headstone, but it was what he wanted,” said Mr Luxton. “They were his wishes.

“I liked that one very much because it’s different and I think a memorial should say a lot about the person.”

After working to restore a fountain and horse trough next to St Peter’s in Sudbury with the help of town councillor John Sayers, Mr Luxton revealed the completed memorial in 2015.

“It was lovely to work on something in Sudbury,” said the 59-year-old. “It has become apart of the town.”

Mr Luxton and his team restored a memorial for the family members of renowned artist Thomas Gainsborough, whose remains have been interred at Sudbury Cemetery in Newton Road.

To mark the centenary of the First World War, Mr Luxton was appointed to restore the war memorial at Holy Trinity Church.

The project involved repainting more than 1,000 letters to commemorate the war dead.