Rutland

A round of applause was heard and words of admiration spoken as a 200-year-old statue returned to town.

After months of restoration the statue of Lady Justice was put back onto the old Stamford Hotel on Tuesday last week (August 22).

Lady Justice was removed from her podium in January 2022 by Stamford Stone due to safety concerns ahead of work taking place on the building.

It emerged she had been sitting on rotten timbers and was secured onto the roof with a strap looped around a chimney.

Rutland-based LDW Carpentry and Building Ltd was selected to take on the Lady Justice project and picked up the statue, which was in pieces, from Stamford Stone’s storage in February this year.

Under the leadership of company director Luke Wells, specialist stonemasons Mark Manby and Mark Porter worked to restore it.

Mark Porter said: “When we took over we had to work out the best way to put it together to keep it as original as possible and use as much of the original stone.”

The knee was missing and over the 200 years it turned from bright English limestone into grey with growths of yellow moss.

With a background in heritage, the team knew a high level of care was needed.

After the restoration the statue itself weighed more than 1.5 tonnes while the bottom plinth was more than four tonnes.

Mark Manby said: “It is nice to say we have done it.

“We will be able to walk by and show family and friends.”

The podium which features palmettes and decorative detail was lifted first and was the part Luke was most nervous for.

It was followed by two further stone slabs which the two stonemasons, who were at the top of the building, put in place.

Once this had been done, a call was made to say it was time for Lady Justice - who was waiting in a trailer in a lay-by at Carpenter’s Lodge.

Covered in a thick black cellophane and old insulation she made her mighty arrival.

Luke did the honours of unveiling her while people gathered to snap photos of her and passers-by made comments such as ‘it’s exciting’ and ‘she’s finally back’.

After being admired by the team she was quickly wrapped back up and put in netting - for protection reasons - so she could be hoisted to the top of the building.

Within a couple of tense minutes she was at the top and in her rightful position, which attracted a small round of applause.

The stonemasons noted that their techniques remain the same as they would at the time Lady Justice was made - although they use more power tools.

However, lifting the statue to the top would have also been a much more arduous task in the 1800s.

After the successful lift, Luke said: “I am over the moon and very proud.

“Everything has gone perfectly to plan.”

He added that he is proud of the end result.

The restoration of the stone statue added a hefty £160,000 extra to the project to refurbish the old Stamford Hotel - but the owner Alex Duce was keen to see her safe for the next 200 years.

“They have done a brilliant job,” he said.

What do you think to her new look? Email [email protected]