Port Sunlight’s War Memorial reopens following conservation work
9 November 2023
This Remembrance Sunday sees the reopening of one of the most significant War Memorials in the country, following months of vital conservation work to protect it.
Port Sunlight’s War Memorial – called Defence of the Realm – is one of the largest in the UK and is Grade I listed. It is owned and looked after by Port Sunlight Village Trust (PSVT).
Designed by sculptor Sir William Goscombe John, the memorial was completed in 1921 and commemorates employees who lost their lives in the First World War, as well as employees and village residents who died in the Second World War.
Port Sunlight’s War Memorial is particularly noted for its bronze figures and panels, which includes women and children alongside soldiers. This was seen as unusual at the time, however it is something many visitors appreciate today.
PSVT carries out an annual programme of conservation across the many buildings and monuments we care for in the village, and the War Memorial was identified by specialists as one of our priorities for 2023. Work carried out this year included cleaning and conserving the bronze figures, removing and replacing defective pointing to the upper part of the monument, at this stage, as well as gently cleaning the whole structure.
Jean Milton, Director of Heritage at Port Sunlight Village Trust, said: ““Surveys identified some areas of the War Memorial’s structure that were suffering from environmental impacts.
“We’re experiencing increasingly extreme weather patterns due to climate change, so we needed to act by bringing in specialist conservators from Bullen Conservation to carry […]