Isaac Newton statue to get makeover
LDRSStatues of two of a town's most famous sons are to get makeovers.
Permission has been granted for specialist cleaning work on two Grade II-listed bronze statues in Grantham, Lincolnshire.
Sir Isaac Newton, a key figure in the Scientific Revolution, and Frederick Tollemache, a long-serving Victorian MP, are commemorated on St Peter's Hill in the town.
Newton's childhood home at nearby Woolsthorpe Manor is famous for its 400-year-old apple tree, which reputedly inspired his theory of gravity.
LDRSTollemache served as the town's MP from 1826 to 1874.
Members of South Kesteven District Council were told the cleaning process – using low pressure steam – would avoid the need for chemicals and would not cause any harm to the "historic fabric" of the structures.
At a meeting on Thursday, councillors voted to specify that, if the statues were damaged in any way during cleaning, the contractor would be liable for repair costs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Newton's statue dates from 1858 and Tollemache's from 1892, according to Historic England.
St Peter's Hill is also home to a statue of the UK's first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.
It was officially unveiled in her home town in May 2022.
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