• Make a contribution
  • Get the Print Edition
  • Sign up for our daily newsletter
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
  • Login
Reading Today Online
  • HOME
  • YOUR AREA
    • All
    • Caversham
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Katesgrove
    • Reading
    • Southcote & Coley
    • Tilehurst & Norcot
    • Whitley

    Second round of Community Fund grants awarded to community across Thames Valley supporting crime prevention

    Royal Berks Chief Exec to step down next year after nearly a decade

    Charity golf day drives record donations for Sue Ryder hospice

    Me2Club offers a tasty Reading quiz on Wednesday

    Teenager arrested following voyeurism incident

    NHS gears up for winter pressures

    Council warns around half of postal voters could lose ability to vote by post

    Supervisor at Thames Valley Buses shortlisted for Unsung hero award at UK Bus Awards

    Shakespeare meets slasher flicks in latest Progress production, Titus Andronicus

  • COMMUNITY
  • READING FC
  • SPORT
    • All
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rugby
    Hunt earns vital win as Reading FC move out of League One relegation zone

    Hunt earns vital win as Reading FC move out of League One relegation zone

    Former Reading FC boss Ruben Selles returns to management with new job

    Wokingham racing star Bobby Trundley poised for championship title

    Table tennis round-up: New season kicks off for 102nd year

    Former Reading FC and Real Madrid player rushed to hospital after suffering stroke

    Reading FC: Noel Hunt confirms injury for Joel Pereira

    Pressure remains on Hunt as Reading FC stay in League One relegation zone after defeat

    Ella hits hat-trick for Sumas

    Reading RFC President Yasmin Miller honoured as a pioneer of Women’s Rugby

  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING FESTIVAL
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • READING FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • JOBS
  • MORE…
    • ADVERTISE
    • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Reading Today Online
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

George Palmer statue receives deep clean ahead of new facilities at Palmer Park

Jake Clothier by Jake Clothier
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 10:21 am
in Featured, Reading
A A
A team from M A Polishing refreshed the statue, including pressure washing, coating, and patination. Picture: Courtesy of Reading Borough Council

A team from M A Polishing refreshed the statue, including pressure washing, coating, and patination. Picture: Courtesy of Reading Borough Council

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

THE STATUE of George Palmer in Palmer Park has been restored to its former glory after receiving a deep clean.

Reading Borough Council sought to tidy up the statue in anticipation of new swimming facilities due to open at the park soon.

The statue of George Palmer has been in place since 1930, showing signs of weather wear and residue, so the council enlisted experts, Daouda, Imhammad, and Wojciech from M A Polishing, to clean it.

They cleaned off the dirt which had accumulated using high-pressure steam cleaning and use gel-cleaning to reduce signs of erosion.

The surface of the statue was then harmonised and patinated to give it a fresh, dark bronze appearance, and finally coated with crystalline wax and buffed.

It will form part of a new pedestrian area around the sports centre currently situated there, which will also include a new 25 metre swimming pool, a 100-station gym, a cafe, and an activity zone for children.

Related posts

Ruben Selles heaps praise on “exceptional” Sam Smith after scoring winner

READING 1-0 ROVERS: Smith goal fuels a win for Royals against ‘The Gas’

East Reading Festival returns to Palmer Park this summer, seeking volunteers and stall-holders

VOTE 2024: Reading needs ‘a fresh start’ say town’s Lib Dems as they pledge to contest all 16 seats

The existing building is also being refurbished, with recent photographs confirming the replacement of the roof, complete with solar panels and heat pumps.

Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward, Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture, said: “I’m delighted to see such an iconic Reading landmark gleaming again.

“Thanks to our expert statue cleaners for restoring this statue to its former glory, which is particularly important for us in the run-up to the completion of the new facilities.

“It is also timely as the world-renowned biscuit makers, Huntley & Palmers, marks its 200-year anniversary.”

Cllr Barnett-Ward said also that the statue refreshed and the progress at the Palmer Park site, “heralds the new era for leisure in Reading.”

“Very soon, Reading will boast a brand new 25m 6-lane community pool at Palmer Park, linked to existing sports facilities – combining the benefits of a sizable pool, velodrome and athletics stadium all in one accessible location – delivering a fairly unique facility in the region and putting Reading firmly on the map as a top sports destination.”

The statue depicts George Palmer, who famously partnered with Thomas Huntley to form Reading’s integral biscuit factory, Huntley & Palmers, and was the first in Britain to include an umbrella.

It was designed and created by George Blackall Simonds, who also created Reading’s most famous statues, the Maiwand Lion in Forbury Gardens, and the statue of Queen Victoria outside the Town Hall.

Keep up to date by signing up for our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people who have requested it.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Tags: palmer parkrdgukreading borough councilreading newsreading uk
Previous Post

The Retreat’s Bloody Mary contest returns for another year

Next Post

A WHEELY GOOD TIME: Cycle Festival delights Reading

FOLLOW US

POPULAR STORIES

  • ‘We should have signed him’: Former Reading FC loanee hits hat-trick for new club

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Former Reading FC boss Ruben Selles returns to management with new job

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Wareham issues message to Reading FC fans after ‘hate and abuse’ during game

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Reading FC keep long-standing league record after Liverpool lose at Crystal Palace

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Former Reading FC player retires from professional football

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

RDG.Today – which is a Social Enterprise – provides Reading Borough with free, independent news coverage.

If you are able, please support our work

Click Here to Support RDG.Today

ABOUT US

Reading Today is dedicated to providing news online across the whole of the Borough of Reading. It is a Social Enterprise, existing to support the various communities in Reading Borough.

CONTACT US

news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

Reading Today Logo

Keep up to date with our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people that have subscribed

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

The Wokingham Paper Ltd publications are regulated by IPSO – the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
If you have a complaint about a  The Wokingham Paper Ltd  publication in print or online, you should, in the first instance, contact the publication concerned, email: editor@wokingham.today, or telephone: 0118 327 2662. If it is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact IPSO by telephone: 0300 123 2220, or visit its website: www.ipso.co.uk. Members of the public are welcome to contact IPSO at any time if they are not sure how to proceed, or need advice on how to frame a complaint.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • MY AREA
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Bracknell
    • Calcot
    • Caversham
    • Crowthorne
    • Earley
  • COMMUNITY
  • SPORT
    • Reading FC
    • Football
    • Rugby
    • Basketball
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • READING FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • OBITUARIES
  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT US
  • SUPPORT US
  • SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
  • WHERE TO GET THE PRINT EDITION

© 2021 - The Wokingham Paper Ltd - All Right Reserved.