Memorial will have new lease of life on Claverley estate
A war memorial at an historic estate is undergoing restoration work to bring it back into its prime.
Chyknell Hall, near Claverley, Bridgnorth, has a 'Men of Claverley' war memorial built after the First World War.
A grant of £3,350 from the War Memorials Trust grant scheme will go towards the cost of restoring the memorial. The joinery of the memorial is in a poor condition with sections of the timber and mouldings with wet rot.
The panel that displays the list of the fallen requires extensive works in regilding and lettering. The grant will help the memorial to stand proud for many more years, the principals of the Chyknell Hall Estate said.
Corinna Sayn‑Wittgenstein, who lives at the hall with her son Alexander, said she only found out about the trust through a friend – who happened to be the wife of the founder.
Corinna explained: "Mrs Luce Spencer-Churchill is a regular guest here and when she was visiting recently we took a walk. I was quite concerned about the war memorial decaying and in a bad condition.
"She told me that her late husband was the founder and president of the War Memorial Trust – Winston S Churchill, the grandson of the wartime prime minister. He decided to maintain and restore war memorials, and thought it should be something done out of respect of the people who served in the war.
"You have to become a member of the trust, so I sorted that and asked them to come down here and have a look at it. The memorial isn't huge but it's important to us. We are relatively new in the local community and the first event we ever held was for VJ Day.
"The local vicar came and spoke to me and they had not been able to bring the surviving families from the war to the memorial for many years. So we hosted them for our very first event two months after we brought the estate."
Corinna said this event was really how they came to know the local community after they brought the property in 2015 and moved in late 2016.
She added: "We are chuffed that the trust chose us as a memorial to restore. It has to be done properly and in the right way by specialists. We are very pleased the trust is sharing the cost of the restoration with us.
"We wanted to show our affection for the local community by getting this restored and taken care of. We are extremely excited to see it finished."
Those involved in the project are Corinna and Alexander zu Sayn Wittgenstein and Alan Lamb from Swan Farm Studios Ltd based in Ditton Priors.
Frances Moreton, director at the War Memorials Trust said: "War Memorials Trust is delighted to support this project and assist the community to improve the condition of the war memorial. Our war memorials pay tribute to those who lives were impacted by conflict and it is important we remember their sacrifice as well as the consequences of war.
"If anyone knows of any other war memorials in need of help please contact the charity or, if you believe in the importance of our work, support us as the charity can only give further grants if it raises enough money."
