Michael Ayrton

In the local churchyard in Hadstock, there is a headstone with a very curious sculpture of an intricate maze. (see extra) On the back is the plaque bearing the name of the deceased: Michael Ayrton, sculptor and writer - and his wife Elisabeth Ayrton, writer. I had never heard of either, so I looked up Michael Ayrton and found that I know a few of his pieces!  The Minotaur at the Yorkshire sculpture park, and the Talos sculpture outside the Guildhall in Cambridge, for example. He worked mainly from the 40s to 60s, and died in 1975. So, perhaps one of Hadstock's more famous residents! 

The maze on his headstone is a replica of a life-size maze (itself a literal interpretation of Icarus' labyrinth in Crete that housed the minotaur of legend) on a private estate in Arkville, New York. It is visible on Google Satellite view (see extra). I found this in the obituary of Mr Erpf, who commissioned the maze: 

The maze (at that time was) believed to be the largest in the world, and was built a few years ago on Mr. Erpf's property in Arkville.

Mr. Erpf is reported to have called Michael Ayrton, an English sculptor, authority on mazes and author of “The Maze Maker,” a fictional autobiography of Daedalus, and said: “I just read your book. I want one of those.”

Mr. Ayrton described the maze as the only one constructed of stone since the fourth or fifth century. It contains 1,680 feet of passageway inside walls that range in height from six to eight feet.

Mr. Erpf was said to have considered the maze “an aesthetic experience, a symbol in a world so caught up with scientific rationalism it doesn't know where it's going. You can't get to the center of a maze by going straight for it. You have to be indirect. The way to attain something is to go away from it. The maze is a spiritual truth.”