The parish of Bamburgh, Northumberland, is understandably proud of its new war memorial, created in a collaboration between Classic Masonry, based in North Shields, Newcastle, and celebrated stone sculptor Andrian Melka, whose shtudio is in York.

The memorial, which replaces a badly weathered original, was funded by Bamburg Parish Council, Bamburgh Castle Estates, personal donations and a major grant from the War Memorials Trust.

The original war memorial was erected in this location on a rocky crag below Bamburgh Castle in 1921. By 2009 it had become badly weathered in the coastal environment and a preservation scheme was undertaken. It was not successful and a fund was started to replace the memorial.

Classic Masonry was awarded the project and staretd by dismantling the original ‘Christ on the Cross’ so it could be reproduced.

After further professional consultation as to the identification of the stones originally used for the memorial and recommendations for replacement, Hopton Wood limestone from Derbyshire was chosen for the replacement.

While the work was undertaken a ‘There But Not There’ metal outline of a soldier was put in its place.

The base blocks and wreath were carved by Classic Masonry’s masons, who reinstated the finished piece when Andrian Melka had completed his Christ on the cross. The successful collaboration concluded with the dedication of the re-worked  memorial in time for Amistice Day last year.