BEING back in the Pop-Up shop in Wellington has once again been a joy. With the fabulous company of the existing monument volunteers, we have set up the shop to explain about the ‘hard hat tours’. These will start in a few months. I shall let you know as soon as they are available to book. The viewing platform is at the top of the plinth, about ten metres high. There will be eight-ten people on a tour and yes, hard hats will be worn!

As for the building work itself, Mark the site manager keeps us informed. “We’ve had a team of masons removing all stones that have been scheduled to date,” Mark says. “The priority for us is to approach the shaft of the obelisk in sections, beginning with the lower third. Quite an unusual way to proceed as we would normally work from top down. In this case, we have the weather issues to contend with at this time of year – tad blowy up there – and our system of work is based around the grouting. The grouting item requires us to fill the voids within the core. This needs to be done from the base of the monument up. We therefore want to get the stone replacements in and the pointing finished in sections to prevent the grout from finding an escape route.

“I have sent our first request to the quarry and this consists of 30 ‘blade’ stones or corner stones, alongside 66 ashlar stones. This means every stone has been measured precisely in length, depth and height. All stones will have a chamfer or splay on the face to fit with the angle of the monument as a whole – 1.5in. We have secured the stone required for the pyramidion but this is yet to be taken from the ground. A total of 41 stones with the original apex stone to be put back into position on top, about 15 metric tonnes in total. We will shortly begin dismantling the pyramidion in order to see how the counterweight is supported.”

This is a huge project! Leading me into how the fundraising is going. We are raising the last £500,000. The Monumental Sunflower raffle raised £1,500 each for St Margaret’s Hospice and Wellington Monument. Thank you to everyone who donated prizes, bought tickets and especially to John McCarten who made it happen. The 40 prize winners who received the phone call were certainly delighted.

So, contact me with ideas and thoughts as ever on [email protected]. The project is certainly revving up!

Emma Jones

National Trust fundraising and community engagement officer (Wellington Monument)