Conservation work is under way to restore Cromer’s War Memorial

29th January 2018

Our Norfolk Workshop has been appointed to restore Cromer’s War Memorial in Norfolk. This long-awaited project is now under way as a result of a four-year fundraising campaign.

Work has now commenced to restore the listed Cromer War Memorial which has suffered severe weather damage and become eroded. The project to restore the War Memorial was launched in 2014 by the Mayor of Cromer at the time, Cllr. David Pritchard. To date over £25,000 has been raised via fundraising events and the generous support of members of the public.

Cliveden Conservation was chosen for the project because of their previous outstanding work on war memorial restorations. Senior conservator Fiona Johnson explained: “Some of the figures had been repaired before but the sea air has affected the memorial and speeded up erosion. We are confident we can produce exact replicas and have been researching the appropriate uniforms for the four figures.”

Our conservation team has already removed five figures which represent a soldier, sailor, airman and nurse, and the St George and Dragon figure from the structure and taken them to the workshop. Expert craftsmanship will now be used to hand carve replica versions of the originals but this time using a durable limestone material instead of soft stone.

Additional names of residents of Cromer who died in the Second World War will also be hand carved onto the base of the memorial as part of the project. Other works will include cleaning and repairing the structure in situ and the surrounding pavement.

The restoration work to the Cromer War Memorial is scheduled to be completed by summer next year. The balance of the costs has been underwritten by Cromer Town Council, but the fundraising efforts continue with the sponsorship of the engraving of the names from WW2 and subsequent conflicts. The official unveiling and rededication of the War Memorial which commemorates the residents of Cromer who were killed or missing in the First and Second World Wars, will take place on 10th November 2018.