Linlithgow Civic Trust
Projects
Nobel Monument Refurbishment
Those of you who shop or take refreshment at Linlithgow’s Regent Centre, will have noticed the poor state of repair of the stone monument, and the unattractive condition of the planting, in the raised bed between Tesco and the Bank of Scotland. The appearance of the shrubs has not been helped by the severe cutting back carried out in 2023 in an effort to rid the Centre of vermin – an action which has halted progress with the Trust’s plans to refurbish the monument and re-landscape the raised bed.
Nevertheless, the Trust has obtained permission from the Centre’s owners to adopt, improve and maintain the raised bed and to carry out the much-needed repairs to the monument. The monument commemorates both the erection of the Regent Works Munitions Factory for the Nobel Explosives Company Limited in 1902 and the opening of the Regent Centre on the site some eighty-one years later. Buried beneath the monument are three time capsules. One dating from the opening of the factory and two more – on from 1983 when the Regent Centre opened. The Regent Works mostly employed women – known as ‘munitionettes’ – who made explosives for Britain’s war effort in both World Wars over the course of which 500 female munitions workers made over 11 million incendiary bombs.
The project involves cleaning the monument’s stonework, full restoration of the original pink granite plaque, and replacement of the eroded sandstone plaque with one of dark grey granite with silver lettering. The monument will be dismantled, taken away for steam cleaning and sealing, then re-assembled on site with each stone secured with stainless steel restraint ties and dowels. In addition, all the existing shrubbery will be removed and replaced with evergreen ground cover of prostrate conifers, and four flowering cherry trees – one for each of the munitionettes who died in an explosion at the Works on 5 February 1943. LED lighting, controlled by photocell sensor, is to be installed to floodlight the restored monument and to uplight the trees. A new interpretation board will be erected to tell the important story of the Works, in the context of Linlithgow’s industrial past, and to recognise the sacrifice and vital service of the munitionettes.
A fresh quotation from Quality Masonry Services in Falkirk for the monument refurbishment is about to be requested, along with estimates from local contractors for the landscaping and electrical works. When all the costings have been received, the Trust will seek funding from various local sources, including the businesses and retailers in the Regent Centre, and also from Akzo Nobel – the present-day incarnation of the original company.
