THE march of time has taken its toll on the Watchmakers tombstone at St Petroc's Church, Lydford.

Plans have been unveiled to preserve the tomb of watchmaker George Routleigh with its celebrated epitaph as a central feature of the church, at a cost of around £4,000.

An application has been submitted for cleaning, stabilising and restoring the inscribed slate on the tomb, moving it inside and mounting it on a church wall.

The proposal would involve taking the tombstone away from its south porch position to undergo around six months of specialist preservation and restoration work.

The Rev Ian Sykes said the tombstone had been there for two hundred years, and needed to be preserved because it had become weathered. Slates were fracturing and had been picked off in places by some people.

'The tombstone is an ancient monument, it is of some considerable interest because of the poetry inscribed on it,' he said.

Mr Sykes said many visitors who come to Lydford to see the gorge and the castle also enjoyed reading the poetry at the watchmaker's resting place.

'I suppose we are part of the tourism trail in Lydford. We are very pleased to see people visiting the church and we provide good quality information about the village.'

The church is also exploring whether a resin facsimile model of the tombstone can be made, which would be placed outside the church in the stone's original site.

However, Mr Sykes said that advice was still being sought from a slate expert about the idea. He said the ambitious plan may be judged impractical due to cost, or because the process might damage the original slate further.

The application by Lydford's parochial church council has been submitted to the Exeter Diocesan Advisory Committee, which acts as the planning authority for churches. Consultation with Dartmoor National Park Authority is also taking place.

The application could go before Dartmoor's planning committee stage within the next month. The church hopes it may be able to secure grants to assist with restoration costs.

If permission were to be granted, Mr Sykes said that the tomb could be removed in October for restoration work, returning in late spring next year.

The epitaph on watchmaker George Routleigh's tombstone is a long and clever one, equating his profession with his life.