Newton Regis war memorial awarded £4,370 restoration grant

Feb 19 2009 by Christina Savvas, Birmingham Post

A war memorial in Warwickshire is to receive a £4,370 grant for its restoration.

The grant to carry out repairs to the church memorial lychgate at St Mary’s Church in Newton Regis, near Tamworth, is from English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation.

The memorial is one of 12 in England, including one in Staffordshire, to share grants worth nearly £50,000 towards conservation and repair under a scheme run jointly with War Memorials Trust.

Second World War veteran, Harry Jackson, aged 89, has praised the grant for his local church. “War memorials are very important. It’s important that people remember,” he said.

The lychgate was built in 1928 to commemorate those who lost their lives in the First World War, including Mr Jackson’s uncle Arthur. The memorial marks the entrance to the grade II* listed medieval church of St Mary and is in urgent need of repairs to the timber gates and tiled roof.

Tim Johnston, regional director of English Heritage, said: “Although these grants are modest, they can make all the difference in helping people meet the costs of cleaning and maintenance, forestalling bigger repair bills in the future. That’s a small price to pay to ensure the survival of these poignant symbols.”

In Staffordshire, a memorial at Chase Terrace, St John’s Community Church, Burntwood, has received a grant of £2,950. The grant will allow the memorial to be moved and repaired as part of the redesign and landscaping of the site.