Please fill in the form below and we will get back to you.
Alternatively email us at info@dbrlimited.com or for urgent enquiries call us on 020 7277 7775.
Pow - Westminster Hall War Memorial
Conservation Works
1 / 3
Within St Stephen’s Porch at Westminster Hall, a quiet figure watched over the passage of time. The Recording Angel memorial, designed in 1921 by the sculptor Sir Bertram Mackennal, stood as a tribute to Peers, Members of Parliament, officers, staff, and their sons who had fallen in the First World War. It served as the principal memorial to employees of both Houses including police officers, whose service and sacrifice had left empty places in the corridors of Parliament.
Carved with solemn dignity, the angel symbolised remembrance itself: a witness, a chronicler, a guardian of names.
Client
Palace of Westminster Parliamentary Estates Directorate
Dates
September 2018
—
October 2018
Location
Westminster
Grade listing
Grade I
A Century’s Quiet Wear
Over the decades, the memorial had endured the gentle but persistent effects of time. Dust settled into carved recesses, surfaces dulled, and minor deterioration softened details once sharply defined. As the centenary of Armistice Day approached, it became clear that the monument required careful attention not to change it, but to prepare it for renewed remembrance.
DBR Conservation was commissioned to undertake conservation cleaning and repair, ensuring the memorial would stand in fitting condition for the commemorations.
Cleaning with Reverence
The cleaning process was carried out with sensitivity, removing accumulated soiling while preserving the integrity of the original materials. Every surface was treated as both artwork and memorial, requiring techniques that would reveal detail without erasing the quiet patina of age.
Where minor defects were identified, repairs were undertaken to stabilise the fabric and prevent further deterioration.
Ready for Remembrance Once More
When the work was complete, the Recording Angel appeared neither new nor altered, but clear again, its inscriptions legible, its sculptural form calm and composed. It stood ready to fulfil its purpose during the centenary commemorations, offering a place for reflection within one of the nation’s most historic settings.
In caring for the memorial, DBR Conservation ensured that the memory it holds of lives lost and service given remains visible to those who pass beneath its watchful gaze, a century after the conflict it commemorates.
