This is the only thing that survived the fire,” says Nigel Webb handing me a small, but weighty piece of a Jaguar emblem, cast in solid bronze. “It’s the top of what used to be Mike’s ink blotter, used for signing his name on official papers. The fire destroyed everything else, which is tragic. Imagine how packed this place could be had the vast majority of the Hawthorn legacy not been ordered burned…”

That’s a sad thought, but in a way only serves to make Webb’s work all the more impressive. For, at his home – scarcely 50 miles from Hawthorn’s native Farnham – he has amassed what is likely to be the most expansive collection of Mike Hawthorn memorabilia in the world. A self-confessed collectomaniac, Webb has made it his mission to obtain and preserve as many genuine Hawthorn artefacts as possible, and his resulting self-curated museum is a treasure trove of personal items, literature and, of course, cars.

The base of Hawthorn’s 1958 world championship trophy is all that remains of it.