Description of Works

Central London has a proud and rich history, illustrated neatly by the statues, monuments, and fountains commemorating the city’s past, or its famous residents. The task of maintaining many of these monuments falls to FM Conway’s Structures maintenance teams in the City of London and the City of Westminster, who between them look after 43 statues and 17 ornamental fountains as part of our contracts with them.

Each structure has its own maintenance regime, with some being inspected and cleaned just twice a year and others like the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain – better known as Eros – requiring daily inspections and weekly cleaning, as well as immediate action if any graffiti is found. If any repairs are required, they are scheduled into a programme of works that may involve bringing in specialist contractors to work alongside FM Conway.

Delivering Innovation

In addition to carrying out maintenance, FM Conway is also called on to protect vulnerable structures when there are large crowds in central London, for example on New Year’s Eve, for major football matches, and during marches and demonstrations.

In order to be able to react quickly to these requirements, as not all events provide much notice in advance, the team has designed and fabricated purpose-built protection for the most high-profile statues, meaning statues like Eros can be safely behind 3m high sections of wood and away from risk once our teams are on site. The prefabricated sections can then be removed after the event and safely stored, ready for use when required.

Challenges and Solutions

All the statues and fountains FM Conway maintains are designed to be seen and enjoyed by the public, which means the work is carried out in areas with high footfall and in the public eye. Unlike other sites, which often enjoy a greater level of privacy while work is ongoing, our teams are very much public facing, and their expertise and skills allow them to deliver great work even when in the public eye.

There are many unique challenges associated with a lot of the monuments the team work on, arguably none more so than fountains at Marble arch where, as well as ongoing maintenance, an annual drain down and clean is carried out. A pair of Egyptian geese – a protected species – nests there each year, so the team works around them, and has even built a ramp for the newly born ducklings to get in and out of the pond.

Outcomes

In the City of Westminster, most of the work involves maintaining statues and monuments constructed in stone and bronze or other metals. Some are extremely historic, whereas others – like The Women of World War II and Battle of Britain monuments – are recent additions.

In the City of London, the team is responsible for servicing and cleaning both the fabric and the operation of 14 ornamental fountains. Most of these are active and have pumps that must be kept in working order. Many also have to be tested regularly to ensure areas populated with water are kept clean.

Being entrusted with the maintenance and care for some of London’s most historic and recognisable monuments can be a daunting task, but it allows our specialist teams to showcase what they do best, and take pride in keeping the city looking its best.