Tuesday 1st October 2019
On their first visit to the UK, The American Lutyens Trust selected Thursley, where Lutyens grew up, to start their tour and view his early architectural work. Many were architects in their own right and were enchanted by both the village and its hospitality. Coffee was served in Sallie Roles barn followed by a walk through the village, accompanied by Martin Lutyens, past Prospect Cottage (The Institute), Street House (where Lutyens grew up), through the gardens of Corner House (his first architectural commission) and up to the Church and Luytens's connections in the graveyard. This was followed by a delightful lunch in the pub, much enjoyed by everyone. One of the party had a small piece of glass and a sharpened piece of soap, the tools used by Lutyens in his teenage years wandering around the local countryside, who demonstrated how Lutyens copied the local architecture to provide him in later years with a source of architectural details.
