The Andrew Gibb Memorial in Blackheath at the junction of Maze Hill and Charlton Way has been struck by vandals.
The memorial, which is opposite the Greenwich Park war memorial and comprises of a water fountain under an impressive eight-sided shelter, was badly damaged in the attack which is believed to have happened sometime on Thursday night.
The stone obelisk has been smashed from its fixings on the fountain and then broken into pieces. I understand that although the panes of glass are smashed frequently, this may be the first time the obelisk has been so badly damaged since the £100,000 refurbishment in 2003.
The damage was spotted by local resident, Mr M Qavi, shortly after 1pm on Friday and quickly reported to the council. He told Greenwich.co.uk “that the Councillors and the Council Officials responded immediately by sending out a team to remove the stone ball and glass shards”.
Ward councillor, Alex Grant, visited the memorial to view the damage for himself on Friday afternoon.
Andrew Gibb was a local ship-repairer who lived at Garthlands in Westcombe Park, as well being a philanthropist and one of the first Aldermen of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich. According to the Greenwich Council website, he left £1,200 for the erection of a public water fountain when he died in 1908.
You can see how the Andrew Gibb Memorial looked before the vandalism here and here.
What a dreadful thing for people to do. It looked great after the restoration, so this is very sad indeed. I hope there is CCTV which could help find the culprits, and that we can get it repaired as soon as possible.
“Hur Hur! Look at me breaking things! Hur Hur!”
There is a little known by-law that you can beat these people over the head with anything they break.
Fact.
What a good job this well-loved feature is monitored 24/7 by the CCTV
camera mounted on the lamp post opposite.
No doubt we can expect an arrest soon ?
(or was it out of film !)
Graeme Tipp
Recently the Dips next to the memorial and Whitfield’s Mount have been torched several times, while the local heathland is used as a drinking spot and rubbish dump by ignorant individuals. Birds nest here and many grassland butterflies use this rare remaining wild area in summer, and it is a pity it is left so vulnerable to attack.
If the Council had a few patrols doing things like picking up litter once or twice a week (I picked up 2 bagfuls the other day alone, but if the council can buy me the proper equipment I’ll be happy to do it more often) and the Police would walk by sometimes, keeping an eye out on warm evenings, this pathetic vandalism of our community spaces could be reduced. Once people start to ignore stuff like arson and littering, vandals will keep pushing the boundaries and end up smashing memorials.
Can anyone tell me why Blackheath is being surrounded by fencing ?
I thought this was prohibited by the Magna Carta or some equally fundamental right of free access ?
G Tipp – you are quite right, Metropolitan Commons Act or something. But this is moveable fencing just to keep public safe from the fireworks.
To any LOCOG people looking in – no, this is not a precedent for you.