BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON
HISTORIC CHURCHES
21ST ANNUAL EDITION
19
SAVING OLDHAM’S
WAR MEMORIAL
Jane Manners
O
LDHAMWAR
Memorial occupies a
paved triangular space in the centre
of this once thriving Lancashire mill
town. The site is framed by a grand red-
brick public house, the Greaves Arms, to
the east and by the imposing neo-classical
town hall to the south. The parish church is
immediately to the north and its entrance
forms part of the memorial, with seven
bronze plaques and three smaller ones set
into its curved sandstone-clad walls. These
plaques record the names of the dead from
the first world war and subsequent conflicts.
A three-metre high granite base, surmounted
by Albert Toft’s magnificent sculptural
group, stands in the centre of the space.
A programme of conservation work
carried out between May and August 2013
encompassed not only the memorial’s
stone plinth and bronze sculpture but
also a mechanical book of remembrance
housed inside the plinth (see page 20).
The memorial plaques attached to the
nearby churchyard wall, the wall itself and
the approach to the church opposite the
sculpture were also repaired and conserved.
Funding, coordinating and carrying out
the project brought together a wide range of
organisations including Unity Partnership
(representing Oldham Council), the War
Memorials Trust (WMT) and Oldham Liaison
of Ex-Service Associations; conservation
architects Lloyd Evans Prichard and main
contractors Lambert Walker Conservation
& Restoration Ltd; conservators from
the University of Manchester and bronze
specialists Eura Conservation Ltd. English
Heritage’s consultant Richard Harris
was brought in by WMT to advise.
Best conservation practice was
followed throughout all procedures, with
minimal intervention in line with Institute
of Conservation standards, and every
attempt was made to ensure that the bronze
sculpture, the plaques and the churchyard
were safely conserved for future generations.
A full photographic record was also kept
throughout all the processes, which should
give future conservators invaluable insights
into the 2013 project (a lack of detailed
records of past treatment was a particular
challenge during the recent works).
The conserved and repaired memorial, which was rededicated at a special Remembrance Day service on
10 November, 2013 (All photos: Eura Conservation Ltd unless otherwise stated)
The dedication of Oldham War Memorial by the Bishop of Manchester on 28 April 1923 (Photo: Roll-of-Honour.com)
