Devon stonemason launches Hurley Marble

Devon Stonemason Matthew Hurley has just launched a new local business called Hurley Marble, selling luxury handmade pietra dura marble tabletops, marble and stone fireplaces and bronze sculptures for high-end interiors. Hurley Marble’s objective is to combine one-off designs with exceptional craftsmanship using only the finest rare materials. He hopes to offer a reminder of past splendour, imbued with individual style.

Pietra dura is the Italian art of hard stone inlay. It is essentially marquetry in stone, usually depicting flora and fauna, with appropriate marbles chosen for their magnificent structure and colour. Matthew has created a number of unique table tops comprising beautiful luxury marbles sourced from antique fragments or expensive collections from stone mason’s yards. These marbles originate from many different countries; from quarries beginning in antiquity, many of which are now closed. He also inlays ammonites and fossilized wood fragments to create paintings in stone that offer a glimpse of the creation of the Earth.

Matthew has restored countless chimneypieces, busts and columns, decorative objects and valuable items. He accepts commission ideas for tables, sculptures and fireplaces – contemporary or classical.

Hurley Marble's website www.hurleymarble.co.uk has details of a carved stone fireplace featuring Exe estuary animals and birds, completed for a Dawlish customer. There are also a number of original bronze sculptures, all of which are based on Greek mythology, such as the head of Thracian singer Orpheus, resting on his lyre. Furthermore, Matthew has just completed a stone fireplace for the Brampford Speke house that recently featured on BBC2’s Restoration Home.

From the age of 16 Matthew trained and worked with his Uncle and Father, both talented stonemasons. He works predominantly in marble, and his influences are those of the classical worlds of Greece and Rome, the architectural furniture of the Georgian period and the Florentine Renaissance. His extensive travels have also informed these areas of interest. A wealth of contacts in the stone trade has helped him to source material, learn techniques and histories. He holds an MA in Buildings Conservation from York University.

“Today’s marble trade is very competitive, threatened by cheap imports of inferior quality and materials. From quarry block to finished article, we take great care to ensure every step of the process is of the highest quality. Modern quarries produce stones of varying interest and colour, but these often look lifeless and inexpensive. Often not fit for purpose, interiors using these stones are renewed constantly as fashion dictates. Objects of rarity and quality should not need replacing. Handmade pieces embody the energy of a craftsman. Indeed, there is life in hand made objects.”