Architects responsible for the pristine splendour of royal wedding venue Westminster Abbey have been appointed to restore of one of Holyhead’s most iconic monuments.
The town’s Cenotaph, the memorial to the town’s gallant fallen in a century of warfare, is to get a much-needed makeover thanks to the Townscape Heritage Initiative, managed by the Isle of Anglesey County Council’s Planning Service, which is set to transform many of Holyhead’s best known historic buildings.
Internationally recognised specialist architects and historic building consultants Purcell Miller Tritton have recently been appointed by Holyhead Town Council to take charge of the Cenotaph project.
The company are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral and recently carried out a £20 million refurbishment of Liverpool’s St George’s Hall.
The Grade II listed Cenotaph was erected in 1923 to honour the dead of the First World War and has since seen many more additions as Holyhead’s servicemen have given their lives in the Second World War and in 1982 in the Falklands campaign.
The project has been given an enthusiastic welcome by the retiring Mayor, Councillor J V Owen, and by the local branch of the Royal British Legion whose chairman, Brian Jones, 71, a retired maintenance electrician and former Royal Welch Fusilier, has two great uncles numbered among the dead.
He said: “They were both merchant seamen called up into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. They were my grandmother’s brothers and they both found watery graves in the English Channel.
“Only one of them is on the Holyhead cenotaph and he died in the First World War. The other was killed in the Second World War at Dunkirk and is commemorated at Valley.
“But very many families in Holyhead are represented there on the cenotaph so we’re very pleased that it’s going to get a facelift and very grateful to the Town Council and to the Townscape Heritage Initiative for making it possible.
“It is an icon for the town. It’s on the way in to Holyhead town centre right where the road turns at 90 degrees so it has a real visual impact as you drive in.”
The restoration is being supervised by Purcell Miller Tritton architect Rob Chambers who is based at their North Wales office on the Bodnant Estate, near Conwy, and who worked on the St George’s Hall scheme.
He said: “The Cenotaph is a really good example of art deco design in the style of Edwin Lutyens who designed the cenotaphs at Whitehall and the Somme.
“It has suffered over the years with weathering and staining and from being moved as part of road realignment.
“It needs pointing and we will be reinstating the original design of bollards and chains which surround it and employing sensitive cleaning techniques to remove the algal growth and moss that have accumulated and to wash off the verdigris from the bronze tablets before rewaxing them.
“We will also reinstate the lettering and expect to start work this summer with the intention of restoring it to its original 1923 condition in time for Remembrance Sunday.”
The Mayor, Mr Owen, said: “I’m delighted it’s coming back to its full glory and grateful to everyone involved, who has worked hard to make this possible.
“More and more people attend the Remembrance Day Service at the Cenotaph on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month and we will do anything we can to make sure the town honours its commitment to those who died for their country.
“The Town Council took it over some 20 years ago and we have cleaned it but now the opportunity has come for it to get a proper refurbishment and it does need it.
“As Mayor I would really like to thank those involved because it’s been more than just a job for them, not just a matter of a bit of cement and paint, they have really put their hearts into it and I’m sure the town’s residents will appreciate it.
“There are still people from Holyhead out in parts of the world serving their country so as a Town Council we are happy to be making a contribution to the work.”
The Holyhead memorial, modelled on the Cenotaph in Whitehall, was originally unveiled on September 15, 1923, and was made of Cornish granite with bronze reliefs and inscriptions in Welsh and English and extra tablets have been added to number the dead since then.
The renovation is the first part of a £3.2 million two and a half year project to repair and encourage the reuse of many of Holyhead town centre’s historic buildings.
Commissioner Alex Aldridge of Isle of Anglesey County Council said: “There is a lot of history and a lot of affection for the Cenotaph locally. You only have to look at many of the names to see that those families still live in Holyhead and in other parts of Anglesey.”
“The County Council are very pleased to be working in partnership with the Town Council in delivering a much needed restoration scheme for this important structure”
The plans of the proposed renovation are available for inspection at Holyhead Town Hall.
