Linden Arches project close to completion

One of the new gilded crowns. Photograph by Roger Charters. (s)

A PROJECT to restore the Victorian arches in Leamington's Pump Room Gardens is reaching completion.

The Linden Arches were first installed in 1875 and came down in various stages but restoration has been planned to coincide with the The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June.

For four years Warwick District Council and the Friends of the Pump Room Gardens have worked in partnership to restore the avenue of arches, and the foundations were laid last month. The project has been made possible by donations from local businesses and individuals who have contributed more than £60,000, together with a £40,000 contribution by the district council.

For safety reasons they foundations have been temporarily covered with a thin layer of soil while final decorations are put on the arches, which will come complete with globes and gilded crowns.

A grand public event is planned on Thursday June 7 to mark completion of the project.

A pinnacle, three foot high, for one of the arches. Photograph by Liz Drake. (s)

Freshly painted uprights, ten foot high, that will form part of the Linden Arches. Photograph by Liz Drake. (s)

Three newly galvanised arches, 20 feet wide, being unloaded from a delivery lorry. Photograph by Liz Drake. (s)