[3] After being mentioned in Henry Vollam Morton's popular 1927 book In Search of England, Lailey's work became increasingly desirable, and he began signing and dating his pieces.
By the time of his death in December 1958 he had for many years been the last practitioner of his craft, and his equipment and tools were given to the University of Reading's Museum of English Rural Life.
[4] Lailey's workshop, on Bucklebury Common, had the form of a Grubenhaus (a sunken-floored building of early mediaeval type), though it dated from the nineteenth century.
For this, elm logs were seasoned for at least two years, sawn with a crosscut saw, and then trimmed using a side axe; the blanks were then roughly turned, stored for a further short period and finished on the lathe, applying a polish of beeswax and turmeric root.
Lailey charged a relatively modest amount for his services, although he and his father had also supplied leading London stores, including Harrods, with their work around the turn of the twentieth century, when there was a fashion for craftsman-made items.