Village war memorial to be restored to its former glory

A parish council has been given permission to restore a war memorial back to its former glory.

The Grade II listed Great Witley war memorial, which stands on Worcester Road near the entrance to Great Witley, commemorates 20 parishioners who died in the First World War and also honours those lost in the Second World War.

Due to its listed status, conservation work required planning approval from Malvern Hills District Council.

Portia Trow, chair of Great Witley and Hillhampton Parish Council, said: “We feel it is important to honour the memory of those brave men from our parish who fought in the war.

“The war memorial has deteriorated so much that it is nearly impossible to read the names.

“We want to preserve the memorial and return it to its former glory in honour of everyone whose name is upon it.”

The parish council’s plans include steam-cleaning the memorial and repointing the stonework using lime mortar, along with repairing damaged base blocks.

Further restoration work will include repainting the lettering to improve legibility.

Malvern Hills District Council described the memorial, stating: “The structure is constructed of Portland Stone. It is in the form of a stepped base and a catholic cross.”

The district council also noted that the lower base has developed cracks.

Planners said: “The War Memorial dates from the early 1920’s and represents the communities need to show grateful thanks and commemoration for those who had given their lives during the 1st World War.

“The inscriptions have weathered and the whole structure requires cleaning.

“The proposed cleaning technique for the memorial is a respected method that will not damage the stone surface but remove the dirt and grime.”

While recutting the letters was considered, stonemasons advised that repainting them in black would be less damaging to the already eroded stone.

Malvern Hills District Council agreed that this approach would “will cause less damage to the blocks than recutting will,” and said the proposal was therefore “considered to be appropriate”.