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Swanbourne

Swanbourne war memorial obelisk is made of Portland stone.  It stands on Mursley Road in Swanbourne and is within a Conservation Area.

The Portland stone is weathering and this is particularly affecting the legibility of the inscised inscriptions. Due to the extent of the weathering it was decided that it would not be advantageous to re-cut the lettering or indent new pieces of stone as the extent required would have had a negative effect on the appearance of the memorial and also the condition of the stone. Therefore, in 2010 War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £984 towards the steam cleaning of the memorial and an appropriate biocide was then applied to areas affected by biological growths to delay their re-growth. Cleaning was followed by the application of limewater coats and an appropriate lime-based shelter coat to provide protection to the weathering stonework. As these coatings are lime-based they are natural and do not prevent the transfer of moisture required in and out of the stone and will need to be re-applied in the future. Repairs were also undertaken including raking out by hand and re-pointing all failing and open joints with appropriate lime based mortar (no cement), with the colour, texture and finish matching the original. Lime mortar repairs to areas of weathered stone which could provide water traps were also completed.

It is the intention of the Parish Council to install a plaque adjacent to the memorial recording the names so that these can be read alongside the original memorial.

The memorial was unveiled on 26th September 1920 by Admiral The Hon E R Fremantle KCB CMG. World War II names were added after 1945.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM3581
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 7963

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

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