Cenotaph lamps to be refurbished

Cenotaph lamps to be refurbished

Work has started to renovate four Grade II-listed lamps that surround Rochdale Cenotaph.

The four lamps are located at each corner of the Cenotaph in Rochdale Memorial Gardens and were installed in the 1920s.

Beautifully crafted memorial benches, jointly funded by the Rochdale branch of the Parachute Regimental Association and the Council, have also been installed.

The Cenotaph, opposite the town hall, was built to honour the many Rochdale people who lost their lives in defence of the country. It was designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and is one of only seven memorials in England that are based on his Cenotaph in Whitehall in London. It is used as a focal point for remembrance services each November and other civic events.

It is thought that the lamp heads were removed at some point during the 1980s, leaving only iron lattice columns and stone bases.

The council has asked Middleton-based Metcraft Lighting to restore the columns and create new lamp heads that replicate the originals.

The columns were removed on Sunday by D Turner & Son, a Heywood contractor.

Paint samples taken from the columns have been analysed by experts from the University of Lincoln, who found that they were originally painted green with gold detail.

Rochdale Council leader Richard Farnell said: “The Cenotaph is a hugely important part of Rochdale’s world-renowned heritage and serves as a memorial to the many Rochdalians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of their country.

"As custodians of this magnificent and poignant structure we must ensure that it is kept in a state that sufficiently honours those who have fallen in our name. The lamps and the benches are a lasting memorial to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedoms and liberty.”