Langmead Memorials News

The New Barnet war memorial was first unveiled in March 1921 by Thomas Walter Brand, 3rd Viscount Hampden GCVO KCB CMG, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire and was originally dedicated to the brave 278 men of East Barnet who were killed in the First World War.

Thanks to a highly successful fundraising campaign started in September 2009 by the local community association and the specialist restoration skills of Langmead Memorials of Exeter, the memorial has recently been cleaned and restored to its former glory.

Costing a whopping £1000 at the time, the New Barnet War Memoral is a 10 metre high Limestone obelisk surmounted by a beautiful 2 metre high bronze statue representing victory. The memorial is sited in a small triangular garden at the junction of Station Road and Station Approach, with Lyonsdown road beyond.

With the passage of some 90 years the memorial was in need of a comprehensive clean and The New Barnet Community Assosiation (NBCA) asked specialists Langmead to undertake the job.

The work commenced at 0800hrs on Monday the 13th of December and was finished at about 1630hrs. The bronze statue was degreased, cleaned and given 2 coats of wax and the obelisk received 3 deep cleans.

Langmead has also been commissioned to supply and fit a Portland Stone plaque to the base of the memorial commemorating the men of New Barnet who gave their lives during the Second World War.

Keith Marsh with Guide Rainbow Isobel Lawrence and Brownie Charlotte Lawrence

Discovered in the depths of the Langmead yard, a piece of soapstone they didn’t even realise was there, has taken pride of place at Devon Guiding’s Campsite, as a commemoration of the 100 years of Guiding which draws to a close towards the end of October.

Keith Marsh, of Langmead Memorials Exeter, who comes from a Guide and Scout family himself, was more than happy to help out when his daughter, Harriet Lawrence, a Guider in Barnstaple, suggested the idea.  She collected the official centenary logos and the company’s design software created the images in order that over 2 days they could be sandblasted on to the stone, and then handfinished including some help from a couple of current young guiding members.  A ceremony was held at the site where it will live so that all guiding members who camp there in the future will be able to enjoy it; getting up close, touching it and taking rubbings of the logos.

Earlier in 2010 Langmead was commissioned to design new signs to be placed at the entrances to a prestigious block of flats by the sea at Topsham, Devon.
The flats have Westmorland slate facings and it was decided to make the signs out of a matt finished granite of a similar colour.  Various designs were tried and a triangular shape was finally decided upon with each face of the triangle being 1.3 meters high by 27 centimeters across.  It was also decided that a wave motif was to be created around the top of the three faces of the sign and that the name of the flats, Strand Court would be hand carved. The granite arrived at Langmeads workshops in early June and Andy Brooker finished the carving by the end of the month. The signs were placed at the entrances to Strand Court on 22 July 2010. The residents are delighted.

Langmead Sales and Marketing Director Keith Marsh has joined forces with former Bereavement Services Manager John O’Callaghan to form South West Cemetery Services.  John has many years experience in cemetery mangement and holds the relevant professsional diploma.

The company’s mission is to provide support for small and medium sized burial authorities.  Currently Keith and John are working with two town councils on cemetery extensions and new builds and with a network of associates with the right knowledge and skills to draw on, they can offer a wide range of help.

Langmead has now opened a new office and showroom in Bridgwater, Somerset.

‘We are working alongside Bridgwater Funeral Services at 15 Bristol Road which means that we are able to offer clients a complete service all under one roof’, says Keith Marsh of Langmead. ‘We already work extensively in the Somerset area so when Nigel of Bridgwater Funeral Services suggested the idea we jumped at it’.

‘Clients can either come to 15 Bristol Road or we can visit them in the comfort of their own home’ says Keith, ‘and whether you need a new memorial, an additional inscription, or a grave renovated, please give us a call on 01278 444200′.

In order to expand production Langmead has moved all their workshop facilities to new and larger premises in Whimple, Devon. The new workshops (Address:  Unit C, Country House Estate, London Road, Whimple, EX5 2NL) will also feature an additional showroom where clients in the area can view a selection of memorials in both local stone and granite whilst seeing how the memorials are actually produced.

The telephone number for the workshops and new showroom is 01404- 823555

For the last 18 months, Langmead had been adding specialist products to its extensive range of memorials to enhance their client’s choice when remembering their loved ones.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the most popular of these products has been the very first Ceramic Photograph tile called ‘Immortile’.  This is a radically new product which recreates a photograph three dimensionally in ceramic.  Classical elegant and very tactile it will last forever without fading.

Langmead’s Andy Brooker says: “Clients who wished to adorn their memorials with an everlasting image of their loved one have been absolutely delighted with their choice of an Immortile plaque  We set the plaques into the headstones and they look very good indeed.”

Immortile’s inventor, Julian Dakowski, has recently perfected another exciting product which Langmead has in their showroom in Pinhoe Road.  Another ‘world first’, the Wooden Photograph again recreates any photograph three-dimensionally.  Wonderfully warm and tactile, the Wooden Photograph may be cut into any timber product and Langmead are using the technique to allow clients to have their loved one’s photographs on wooden cross memorials.

“It has taken a very long time to perfect these processes” says Julian, “but to be able to two world firsts is very exciting”.

Both products fit well into Langmead’s business but they have a much wider appeal in all areas where being able to keep memories is important.  Whether it is a memory box with a Wooden Photograph of the new baby cut into the top for keeping a lifetime of memories, or a beautiful Immortile set in a silver frame to celebrate a wedding or an anniversary, the everlasting, tactile and non-fading properties will appeal universally.

“Watch out for our new website, ‘The Memory Button’, it will be on line very soon”, says Julian.

Admission Free - Refreshments available.

Exeter City Council Bereavement Services is hosting an open day in Higher Cemetery on Saturday 5th of September from 11am - 4pm.
The day will feature displays of unusual hearses, memorials, hand letter cutting etc as well as fascinating talks and presentations.  Langmead Memorials’ Keith Marsh will give a talk on the history of memorials at 2:00pm in the cemetery chapel and Andy Brooker, Langmead’s letter cutter will be demonstrating his art outside.

Groups exhibiting include…

• Stonemasons
• Funeral directors
• Estate planners
• Coffin providers
• Hearses and limousines
• Probate researchers
• Charities offering bereavement advice
• Local history specialists
• Florists

The Exeter Higher Cemetery at Heavitree was opened in 1866 and has been expanded on at least three occasions since then. Over 70,000 people are buried in the cemetery and there are currently over 12,000 memorials. The cemetery chapels were designed in the 19th century by the architect Edward Ashworth who is also buried here. The grounds were landscaped by Robert Veitch and Son, and today it is home to many fine trees, shrubs and varied wildlife. The cemetery has a number of historic monuments including the 1887 Theatre Royal Fire memorial and a World War 2 memorial.

For futher information please contact: Bereavement Services, Exeter City Council, Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 1RQ

Telephone: 01392 265370 Fax: 01392 265795
Email: bereavement.services@exeter.gov.uk
Website: www.exeter.gov.uk/bereavement