Memorial

Cheltenham - Crimean War

Mark Newton 2 July 2017

Source: Copyright Mark Newton 2 July 2017

1/4

Current Location

14 yrds north of the Queens Hotel, The Promenade, Cheltenham, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1NN, England

SO 94593 22011

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Type of Memorial: Trophy / Relic
WMR Reference Number: 2070
Description: It is formed of a large black rectangular cast iron plinth which used to support a cannon. Around the top of the plinth is a low barrier of metal spikes with short metal posts with spherical finals at the corners, and the area within this barrier is now used as a planter for flowers. The memorial is spanned by a decorative arch painted in gilt and green, surmounted by a lamp. Underneath the lamp, supported by the arch, is a badge containing the monogram VR. There is gilded lettering around the faces of the plinth. During World War II, the cannon were removed and melted down for munitions. One of the bases remained and was turned into a flower bed, still with the lantern on top.
Inscription: Side 1: TAKEN/ AT/ SEBASTOPOL/ 1856 Side 2, centre section: TO THE MEMORY/ OF THE MEN/ CONNECTED WITH/ CHELTENHAM/ WHO FELL IN THE/ CRIMEA Side 2, left and right hand sides: (NAMES) Side 3: THIS MEMORIAL RECORDS THE NAMES OF THOSE FROM/ THIS BOROUGH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE CRIMEAN/ WAR. IT WAS ORIGINALLY SURMOUNTED BY A GUN/ TAKEN AT SEBASTOPOL/ DURING THE WAR OF 1939-1945 THE GUN WAS HANDED TO/ THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE METAL FOR ARMAMENTS Side 4: (NAMES)

Maintenance History: Over the years, the war memorial had been painted battleship grey, the metal had begun to corrode and some decorative details had been lost. In January 2008 English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation granted £9,030 towards work to conserve the memorial and to return it as far as possible to its original appearance. The memorial was moved to a conservator’s workshop to dismantle it. Investigations showed that fourteen layers of paint had been used on the memorial over time, and the original paint scheme was black on the base, with gold lettering, archway, and flowers and green leaves. The current decorative arrow finials below the lamp, and the lamp itself were shown to be later additions. However, the old photographs available were not detailed enough to see what the originals looked like and therefore it was decided to conserve the elements as they were, rather than replace them. Other features of the archway had to be re-cast, such as the flowers and leaves. The main body of the plinth had some cracks, which were repaired by fixing metal straps over the back on the inside of the base.; 1998: The base is said to be in a poor condition as it is badly rusted.; Date unknown: Original lamps were replaced with smaller versions.