The Restoration
By the start of 2024 the Monson Monument was in a considerable state of disrepair, and there was an ever-increasing risk of the stonework falling apart. Nowhere was this more evident than in the canopy. The most recent works to address this, as far as our research could show, was the final restoration attempt made in the nineteenth century, when steel rods were used in a rather crude attempt to increase support to the structure. Additionally, decades of dirt and grime had begun to take its toll on the effigy and figurines, obscuring most of the remaining stonework of any detail.
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The main body of the monument had fallen into a state of disrepair, to the extent where the monument had been closed off from public viewing for several years. Skillington’s of Grantham were given the task of restoring the monument to its former glory. Years of dirt and grime, along with a series of poorly attempted restorations throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth century had caused a significant amount of damage. As has been mentioned above, much of the stonework had also suffered defacement during the civil war in the seventeenth century. The most notable damage being done to the faces of the effigies. The canopy and apron of the monument had suffered damage during the restoration attempts of 1813 and 1882 – the former saw the insertion of several iron rods into the canopy, many of which had rusted and left evidence of corrosion across the monument. The latter restoration involved a repaint the canopy and an attempt at repositioning the structure. Both of which caused more unintentional damage.
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Each of the individual figures around the base of the monument were carefully removed and taken to the workshop, where they were also wet-cleaned by the team to remove the years of dirt and grime that had built up in the alabaster stonework. The figures were then returned to the monument and secured in place into their new positions, believed to be how the Monsons had originally intended. On the chancel side of the monument stand the male descendants of Sir John and Lady Jane, with the female line standing on the mausoleum side. Both sets of figures are arranged in height order – symbolising the chain of succession within the family (the oldest children being presented as the tallest figures). Throughout the female line, certain figures are seen to be holding babies. This is a poignant symbolising of the children the couple lost during their infancies. Sir Thomas Monson and his wife have been restored to their original places at the head of the monument, either side of an open bible or prayer book (almost certainly Sir Thomas’ idea to portray himself as both the new head of the household and also as a devoted son).
