Paye were instructed to undertake one of CWGC’s largest UK restoration projects in decades to ensure the iconic First World War section of the Tower Hill Memorial, which contains 12,000 names, lives on. The Grade I listed structure was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose best-known London landmark is the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

The restoration project included the installation of a new waterproof layer to the roof, re-bronzing of all the name panels and cleaning work to the exterior and interior. Modern materials made it possible to meet the waterproofing plan of the memorial’s architect, Lutyens. At the time of building, the available materials meant his proposals ultimately failed and posed the dilemma of finding a solution without altering the overall design of a listed heritage asset.

Paye erected the scaffold without tying into the building by using a bracing method and installed 6 Niko rails front to back to lift the stones. The memorial was cleaned using Thermotech hot wash and poultice to remove water and bronze staining.

Deconstruction of the stone drum began by removing the key stone first and then the key segments around it. Further works included applying DPM between the courses given there had been water ingress for almost a century. The memorial was completed with the installation of a bronze dome spanning nearly 1m and several bronze ventilation covers.

Additionally, the central compass stone in the WWII garden was lifted and re-bed, and a bronze plaque installed.