Cleaning the Chesapeake memorial on Southsea Seafront

Cleaning the Chesapeake memorial 

The Cheasepeak Memorial on Southsea seafront is located between the Royal Naval Memorial and the Hovercraft Terminal – it is a corniced pedestal, consisting of a polished granite column on a square base with a foliate capital surmounted by a bronze tripod bearing the naval crown. The base of the column is decorated with bronze relief. Our team were tasked with clearing a Seagulls nest from the memorial once the seagulls had finished nesting and cleaning the excreta on the Chesapeake memorial.  

The memorial remembers those from the HMS Chesapeake who died in battles during the Indian Mutiny and the Battle of the Taku Forts, China. It was restored in 1887 by Admiral Sir George Willis, K.C.B. who was the commander of the Chesapeake 1859-61

Cleaning this memorial required careful planning due to the following needs:

  1. The conservation, repair & maintenance requirements of war memorials
  2. Public safety
  3. The bacteria from the guano
  4. Atmospheric staining on the monument

To ensure we could meet all of these needs we started very early in the morning so as to avoid busy times for members of the public and we used professional steam cleaning methods that ensured we could meet all of the cleaning requirements listed above.