While more popular in continental Europe, and there is a marvellous example of a ‘calvary’ carved of Sussex oak and sandstone at the parish church of Saint Augustine in the village of Saynes Hill. It is dedicated to sixteen local men who died in World War I.

In 2016, DBR Conservation was asked to investigate monument’s condition after severe storms and high winds had loosened its fittings to the base, and the heavy cross began to lean forward. Funds were granted by the Memorials Grant Scheme and a programme of conservation was designed which included completely dismantling the upper section of the monument from the base, designing a new securing system, removing all decayed wood, and replacing it with new oak, and consolidating the remaining with epoxy resins introduced with appropriate concentrations. Additional work included:

– Installing a new lead roof
– Removing all rusty metal where possible and replacing with stainless steel
– Cleaning all lichen and moss
– Treated wood with microcrystalline wax
– Steam cleaning the stone base
– Removing all cement repairs and replacing with lime mortars

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More projects by DBR Conservation teams can be found <a href="”> here.