A business owner has spent 1,000 hours making an incredible model of the famous Harry Potter house in Lavenham.
Simon Evans, from Essex, has recreated the Grade I-listed De Vere House in stunning detail after countless 40 hour weeks over the last six months.
The 1/35 scale model captures the medieval house in breath-taking detail, from the brickwork down to cracks and imperfections on the front door.
Mr Evans, who owns a hairdressing salon in Thaxted, began model making in lockdown starting with kits, before moving onto dioramas.
Every piece of the model is handcrafted using materials such as wood, resin and clay all without the help of a 3D-printer or laser cutter.
Mr Evans said: "It is hard to say what inspired me exactly but I was looking for models that suit my technique, as everything is handcrafted buildings with no straight lines really suit me.
"This model took me around 1,000 hours to complete and it really was a lot of work, I have a full time job as well but was still putting in 30 or 40 hours over the last six months.
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"The models are a snapshot of the buildings in that moment of time, so if there is a sign out of the front it is going in.
"I pride myself in getting in as many details as possible, so if you can see it with the naked eye in the real building, I am to get it in the model.
" The Crooked House in Lavenham will be my next one and the owners have a MG MGB car so I am going to try and have that in the model as well."
Mr Evans aims to put together an exhibition together of future Lavenham models in the next few years.
The history of De Vere House
The home has been a tourist attraction for some time but garnered further acclaim when it was used as the site of Godric's Hollow in Harry Potter.
Also known as de Vere Hunting Lodge, it was one of three properties in the centre of the village owned by the de Vere family between the 14th and 17th century.
Very little of the 14th century hall remains but its 15th century extension has remained for more than 500 years.
Both the exterior and interior of the house has features acknowledging the de Vere family, who were centre stage at most of the important historical events of the 11th to 17th centuries.
Lavenham resident Tony Ranzetta, said: “The De Vere family who lived here during the 15th century appointed all of the sheriffs, MPs and magistrates in the whole of East Anglia.
“And at the time, East Anglia was almost run as its own country during the reign of Henry VII and Henry VIII. This was under the command of John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, who was Henry VIII’s mentor, and had complete control of East Anglia, which was the most populous part of the country at the time.
This, combined with the friendships between the De Veres and the monarchy meant that Lavenham became a tax haven – with residents in the village paying just one percent of the tax of elsewhere, and being exempt from all tolls.
