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Tottenham

The Grade II listed Tottenham war memorial consists of a granite pedestal surmounted by a bronze allegory of Peace holding a wreath. On the front face of the memorial there is also a bronze sword. The war memorial is set within a defined hard landscaped area on Tottenham Court High Road. The memorial commemorates the fallen from both World Wars.

In 2014 an application to the Grants for War Memorials scheme was received for a project with a total cost of £84,677. A maximum grant of £30,000 was awarded to this project.

The works proposed were to address the condition of the hard standing area, to remove the inappropriate paint which had previously been applied to the bronze and for its re-patination and treatment with a protective micro crystalline wax. The use of paint on top of bronze is considered inappropriate as it can crack trapping water against the surface of the bronze and causing unseen corrosion. In this case trials were undertaken to establish the most appropriate method of paint removal with an application of Nitromors proving the most effective. Following removal of paint and assessment of the previously concealed bronze surface, and cleaning using a Thermatec steam cleaning system, microcrystalline wax was applied to the surface of the bronze.

The granite stonework survives in good condition and was given a light clean using a combination of hand cleaning using natural bristle brushes and localised steam cleaning. Localised repointing was undertaken using an appropriate lime mortar. The lead lettering was cleaned and a missing letter reinstated.

The original paved surface had been removed and replaced with concrete paving at some point in the memorial’s history. This had become uneven and damaged and so following archival research through which photographs and written accounts were uncovered, the decision was taken to replace the paving with a suitable match of granite paving.

The chains hung between granite bollards enclosing the memorial had at some time been repainted in black paint. Whilst photographic evidence demonstrated this was too dark a shade to have been the original finish, paint tests failed to uncover the original paint colour and so in the absence of evidence a lead-grey colour paint was selected as an appropriate finish.

A report of the memorial’s unveiling in the Tottenham & Edmonton Weekly Herald dated 22nd June1923 indicated that integral rebates to the steps of the memorial were original and had been provided to accommodate cut flowers to avoid the clutter of jars. Evidence of small recess in the lip of these suggests they were probably originally flush fitting to the step surface. As such new bronze grating were installed to sit flush with the surface of the step.

Works were completed in April 2016. The final cost of works was £86,360.

The memorial was unveiled in 1923, designed by Louis Fredrick Roslyn born Louis Frederick Roselieb, and was built by W Griffiths and Sons Stonemasons in Cornish Grey Granite from the Kit Quarry, Callington. The pleated front of the gown of peace is decorated with reliefs of angels.

The inscription reads:

“ERECTED BY THE INHABITATNTS OF TOTTENHAM IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF HER SONS WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918 1939 – 1945 “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS” ”

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM493
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 11781

War Memorials Online: 111832

The 2016 Tottenham project was integral to advice produced by Historic England on Conserving War Memorials Case Study: The Surface Treatment of Bronze Statuary.

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

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