Reading historic monuments to be restored

(Clockwise from top left) Simeon Monument, Queen Victoria Statue, Jubilee Cross and Zinzan Chest Tomb

Four historic public monuments will be restored to their former glory as part of a renovation project.

Reading Borough Council will carry out the works on the Zinzan Chest Tomb, Simeon Monument, Jubilee Cross and Queen Victoria Statue in Reading.

It said the monuments had fallen into various states of disrepair.

Labour councillor Karen Rowland said: "It's very exciting. For the town centre, people would really like to see it spiffed up."

She added: "This is another way of doing this, and it's fabulous."

The project will be funded by the Berkshire town's High Street Heritage Action Zone programme to revitalise historic buildings in the town centre.

The Zinzan Chest Tomb dates back to 1781

The Zinzan tomb in St Mary's Churchyard was in a particularly bad state, with part of the masonry missing.

The tomb, which dates to 1781 and was built for the Zinzan family of Reading, has been cordoned off to prevent further damage and vandalism.

The Queen Victoria Statue on Friar Street was sculpted by George Simmonds to commemorate the 50th year of that queen's reign in 1887.

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September this year, people laid flowers at the statue as a mark of respect.

The council said it would give it a clean and fit replacement steel chains around its base.

The Jubilee Cross is one of four monuments that will be restored under the project

The Jubilee Cross, also in in St Mary's Churchyard, was also built in 1887 to mark the 50th year of Queen Victoria's reign.

It also commemorates the completion of the restoration of St. Mary's Church.

Restoration work on the cross would involve revamping lead lettering to match its original medieval style and improvements to the inscriptions, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Finally, the Simeon Monument in Market Place will also be revived as part of the project.

The obelisk shaped monument was commissioned by Edward Simeon, the director of the Bank of England in 1804, and originally housed lamps to improve lighting in the area.

All four monuments are listed by Historic England.