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Alburgh

Alburgh war memorial is located in Alburgh Churchyard, Church Road, and is a sandstone Latin cross of simple design composed of a three-tier plinth and Latin cross surrounded by a low-level post and chain link fence. The memorial commemorates those killed in World Wars I and II; the inscriptions are carved into the stone on the plinths and face of the cross and painted with black enamel. The memorial is located within the curtilage of the Grade I listed Church, and located within a Conservation Area.

In 2010, War Memorials Trust gave a grant of £1,105 towards a comprehensive schedule of repairs to the memorial. The main point of concern with the condition of the memorial was that it was suffering from contour scaling which is a common cause of decay seen with sandstone memorials. The pores on the face of the stone become blocked which means that the important transfer of moisture within historic stone cannot take place; therefore these deposits build up behind the face of the stone and cause delamination of the type seen in this case. To address this situation a carefully considered conservation approach was required, and consultation was provided by the Church’s conservation-accredited architect. The areas of delamination were carefully cut out with hand tools and re-fixed using a flexible epoxy resin to eliminate water ingress into the structure. On the less advanced examples of delamination the edges were secured with epoxy resin and sandstone dust.

Another issue which was addressed was the areas of stone loss on the memorial, so matching stone was indented in these areas. Furthermore, there was damage to the surrounding posts which have suffered as a result of ferrous fixings which damaged the stone and repairs had been carried out in the past in a hard, possibly cementitious, mortar which further deteriorated the condition of the stone. Therefore the fixings were replaced with stainless steel, and the previous cement repairs were removed if harmful.

A biocide was applied to treat the algae on the memorial and poultices were applied to areas of sulphation as this can cause decay of the stone. The lettering on the memorial was re-painted in black enamel. A faculty was required for the works.

The memorial was built in 1919 by Perfitt’s stonemasons. The sandstone was quarried from Robin Hood Bay, Scarborough.

The inscriptions on the memorial read:

“Sacred
to the memory,
of the brave Alburgh men
who fell in the Great War,
1914-1918”

“Capt. C. P. O. Springfield.
Pte. A. Elmar.
Sergt. W. D. Olley.
Pte. H. Osborne.
2nd Lt. H. O. Springfield.
Corpl. T. O. Springfield.
Pte. H. C. Ray.
Pte. C. C. E. Osborne.
Pte. J. E. Love.
Pte. J. E. Hammond.
Corpl. H. R. Cower.
Pte. W. Websdale.
Pte. R. J. Mitchell.
Pte. A. V. Watson.
Corpl. R. Sadler.
Seaman. E. J. Barrett.
Pte. C. W. Clark.
Pte. H. M. Reeve.
Pte. H. C. Everett.

Corpl. E. J. Clarke.
Corpl. H. J. Barber.
Pte. W. J. E. Welch.
Seaman. C. C. Batchlor.
Seaman. S. M. Welch.

In sacred memory
of the men from this Parish
who fell in the World War

1939-1945

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them.”

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM3860
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 000000

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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