Showcase result

Streatham St Peter's

The war memorial at St Peters Church on Leigham Court Road in Streatham is comprised of a pentagonal limestone base with four sides inscribed. This is surmounted by teak Crucifix with a bronze Christ figure with latticed roof structure over. The teak cross has been set into stone base which in turn is set into a raised planted bed. In 2018, a grant of £5850.00 was given towards conservation and repair works. To allow the bronze figure to be treated, the bronze elements had to be removed from the cross. The nuts were removed from the rear of the figure to allow it to be slung and lowered to the ground using a chain block. Once on the ground the figure was placed onto a wooden pallet and transported back to the conservation studio for treatment. The plaque was also removed at this
point for treatment. The figure and plaque was cleaned using the Thermatech steam cleaner to remove any old
coatings and the bid up of dirt and debris. Once clean the bronze was heated using a propane torch to gently warm the surface before applying a coating of wax to the surface. After the application of the wax the surface appearance was still slightly patchy, various green tinted waxes were applied to the surface to blend in the areas where the rain water had flowed one the surface. Once the bronzes were waxed the surface was allowed to cool fully before applying two coats of clear microcrystalline wax. The wax was allowed to dry before buffing to a soft sheen.
To try to protect the bronzes from metal theft Smartwater® was applied to the inside of the figure
and to the rear of the plaque. After the figure was removed the cross was steam cleaned using a Thermatech steam cleaner, the machine was set at 150oC and 30bar pressure to limit the amount of moisture penetrating the
cross, the steam cleaner removed the build up of dirt and the organic debris. The cross was then left to dry before coating the wood with OSMO® UV Protection Oil in a clear satin finish. The small missing section of the latticed roof was replaced with a section of hardwood cut to size, this was treated with the wood preservative prior to fixing in position using stainless steel pins. The stone was also steam cleaned using the Therma tech system, due to the fragile nature of the stone the pressure was kept low and the temperature was raised. During the cleaning process the bedded area was protected using plywood boards due to the presence of peoples ashes. Some of the lettering was barely legible due to the erosion of the stone, the only solution is to recurve them. The stone surface was refinished before taking a template of the existing lettering, this would allow the remaining lettering to be added to the template. The lettering was re-carved on site.

The inscription reads: This Memorial/ Was Erected In 1921/ In Grateful Memory Of/ Those Members Of This/ Parish And Congregation/ Who Gave Their Lives/ For Their Country/ In The War 1914-1918/ May They Rest In Peace

In 1921 the congregation raised £213 3s 11d towards the erection of a War Memorial. At the same time the congregation had also been appealing for funds for a memorial to their Vicar who died, in post, a few days after the end of the First World War: Fr Edward Jervis. The War Memorial was dedicated by the Bishop Hook (1844-1938) who was the inaugural Bishop of Kingston (1905-1915).

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM2391
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 39170

War Memorials Online: 85326

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

Return to search results | Start a new search