Ford angel to return to spot overlooking Northumberland village

The statue of the Archangel Michael had stood over Ford since the 19th Century

An angel is to be returned to its spot overlooking a Northumberland village where it had previously stood for more than 150 years.

The statue of the Archangel Michael at Ford, near Berwick, was removed in October 2021 after significant damage was found in the supporting structure of the village's Waterford Memorial.

The statue and the column it stands on have since been repaired in Edinburgh.

Work will begin later and is expected to take about a month.

Damage had been "far worse than originally suspected," said a spokeswoman for Ford and Etal Estates, on whose land it stands.

Stability has been reinforced, while effects of weathering have been reversed and brass memorial plaques restored.

Hurricane damage

Grant funding for the project came from the Pilgrim Trust, a charitable organisation helping to protect the UK's heritage.

Designed by architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, who also created the Albert Memorial in London's Hyde Park, the statue was first erected in 1864.

However, it crashed to the ground just four years later when the area was struck by a hurricane, the spokeswoman added.

The central shaft was subsequently reinforced and the statue replaced.

The memorial was erected by Lady Louisa Waterford in memory of her husband Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquis of Waterford, who died in a hunting accident in Ireland in 1859.

After moving to Ford, Lady Waterford constructed the area's school, now known as Lady Waterford Hall, and laid out the village in its present plan.