Sir Charles Mark Palmer Statue, 1904

The statue of Sir Charles Mark Palmer, Listed Grade II, was located in Riverside Park, Jarrow, overlooking the River Tyne. To enable construction of a new Tyne Tunnel for the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority, it was necessary to dismantle and relocate the statue and pedestal within a very tight timescale. Spence & Dower were commissioned by TWPTA to carry out an English Heritage Level 1 Archaeological Recording Survey and to prepare proposals for the careful removal of the statue, dismantling the limestone pedestal and rebuilding the structure on new limestone steps in Jarrow town centre. Within these proposals was the restoration of the stone, cleaning of the bronze statue and the one remaining bronze low relief panel, archival research on the design of the two missing bronze panels, the preparation of designs for their remodelling and their casting in bronze.