THE National Trust’s restoration of Wellington Monument has taken a step forward with the monument’s crowning stone known as the ‘Pyramidion’ being removed.

It is the pinnacle of the tallest three-sided obelisk in the world, at a height of 175 feet.

Mark Holland, site manager from Sally Strachey Conservation, completed a lifting plan in advance of the task. He said: “We began by working the bed joints loose in advance, and once the crane was on site, we used three slings to lift the stone and reposition it onto a sturdy pallet. With a safety net in place, this was then lifted to the ground by the crane using flying forks.”

Wellington Monument has had a turbulent past but the last three months have been a turning point in the monument’s history. The project to repair the 200-year-old monument took a giant step forward with the start of conservation work last autumn with the erection of the scaffolding.

For the full story see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.