People 'delighted' at key milestone for monument

As repair work begins on an historic monument, campaigners have said they had "nearly given up hope" of seeing it restored.

Barriers have surrounded the base of the Lansdowne Monument, also known as the Cherhill Monument, in Wiltshire for more than 15 years to protect walkers from its unstable stones.

The National Trust has now removed some hoardings as repair work begins on the Grade II-listed structure, which dates back to 1845 and stands 38m (125ft) tall.

"It's been such a long hard struggle," said former Calne mayor Glenis Ansell. "I think we gave up hope a while ago, so I'm delighted now."

"Debbie Bassett started this off," Ansell, who has lived in the area for 45 years, continued. "I found her outside Sainsbury's one day collecting signatures soaking wet in the rain

"She told me she wanted to see the monument repaired and I've supported her campaign since then."

At the Black Horse Pub, near to the foot of a path which leads up to the Lansdowne Monument, locals said they felt excited that the scaffolding was finally coming down.

"I'm ecstatic," said Martin Purslow, a member of Cherhill Parish Council and Calne Town Walking Football Club.

"I've lived in Yatesbury for 15 years and the scaffolding has been all that time. It's looked terrible and crumbling."

"It's taken a lot of negotiations to get here. But now we've had the great news that it's started to happen. Hopefully in a few years we'll have a nice new shiny monument."

Gary Haines, 46, said he had fond memories of visiting the monument as a child and sitting on its steps.

He said: "I still remember the exact coat I was wearing and everything. We'd have picnics up there and sit at the monument, it was really lovely. This [the repairs] has been a long time coming."

Triin Teder, manager of the Black Horse pub, said local people were "excited" that the monument was being repaired, especially in the wake of improvements to the nearby Cherhill White Horse which was recently restored.

She said she has many happy memories at the monument, including a first date, and has several photos of it around the pub.

"It's really good news," she added.

The repair work this year will see frost‑damaged limestone cornerstones replaced and the repointing of all external stonework.

A National Trust spokespeson said: "The next phase of conservation repairs has begun, and the hoarding has been temporarily removed so that a team can install scaffolding around the monument.

"We plan to complete the majority of the repairs by the end of 2026 but that work is weather-dependent, given the location and significance of the surrounding landscape."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.