The Queen Eleanor Cross in Northampton is an extremely important 13th Century monument of British history which has been in need of specialist renovation for some time. It last had significant work done in 1984. In the past year I have been working to secure funding and support for its renovation. The Northampton Borough Council and Historic England have agreed funding and I am now pleased to report that the repairs are currently underway and are expected to be completed before the winter. I visited the Eleanor Cross on Friday, 24th May to check on the progress.
I previously wrote to the Chief Executive of Historic England and Northampton Borough Council (NBC) to express my concern over the state of the Cross and to lobby for funding to help carry out repairs. You can read about this using the two following links: https://www.michaelellis.co.uk/news/michael-intervenes-help-save-queen-eleanor-cross and https://www.michaelellis.co.uk/news/michaels-update-queen-eleanor-cross.
Following my letter, Historic England agreed to provide a funding grant covering half of the cost of the repairs. Since then the Cross has been inspected and experts engaged in order to undertake this sensitive work. I am pleased that work is currently underway and I will keep an eye on the progress of this important piece of Northampton history.