Monument to medic nursed back to health

BACK to its best . . . Dobcross Village Community chair Pamela Rose with vice chair Paul Clegg at the restored memorial.

Delighted locals have praised Oldham council for restoring a landmark monument in the heart of Dobcross.

The monument was erected in the voillage square by public subscription more than a 100 years ago as a tribute to Saddleworth’s first medical officer. Last Christmas Eve the monument toppled after being struck by a van, leaving an ornately-carved canopy and a recently-refurbished copper lantern broken in the road.

But the council brought in experts to ensure the monument was sympathetically restored and returned to its plinth in time for Whit Friday’s celebrations.

Paul Clegg, Dobcross Village Community’s vice chairman, lives just a few yards from the memorial.

He said :”The entire village is overjoyed and relieved our beloved monument is back and ready for another 100 years. All credit goes to Oldham council for overseeing both the removal and its reinstatement — plus the dedicated stonemasons who so expertly reinstated the entire monument.”