2020
Reaching the halfway point
Scaffolding starts to be removed
The project has now reached the stage where the main repairs to the obelisk are complete. It is expected to take eight weeks to remove all the scaffolding. Works to the lower curtain wall section will begin at this point.
Restoration project reaches halfway milestone
The conservation project has reached the halfway point. The conservation team has been finalising the top section, known as the pyramidion.
Monument stone helps to raise over £1,000
The project to restore the monument has continued to be a community effort. A team of volunteers helped to raise over £1,000 in donations in exchange for original pieces of the monument. The stone available for donation are small fragments that were not going to be reused in the restoration. The stonemasons assess each piece they take out and wherever possible will reuse the original limestone blocks where they can.
Work begins on the pyramidion
The pyramidion, which is the triangular apex stone section at the top of Wellington Monument, has been dismantled and stored. Measurements of the internal space at the top of the monument have been taken so that work can begin on tooling the new stones.
Fitting the new stones
Of the 135 stones, 80 have now been fitted on the lower third of the obelisk. A reduced team of masons have been tooling the new stones needed for the lower third.
Contractors return
Work has been continuing to repair the Wellington Monument thanks to social distancing and a clear plan from our contractors, Sally Strachey Historic Conservation. The structure was conceived as a way to mark the first Duke of Wellington’s successes after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The Covid-19 pandemic is the latest in a series of the challenges the site has faced since the foundation stone was laid in 1817.
