London’s National COVID Memorial Wall to Be Officially Preserved by the Government
The unique Lambeth mural, created and maintained by bereaved volunteers for the past five years, is being made a permanent tribute to honour the lives lost during the pandemic.
The government plans to officially preserve the National Covid Memorial Wall in Lambeth which was created as a grassroots project by campaigners during the March 2021 lockdown.
The Wall, situated along the River Thames by St Thomas’ Hospital, a major centre of the UK’s COVID-19 response, features over 250,000 hand-painted red hearts and spans 540 metres, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament.
Each heart commemorates and represents a life and a loved one lost to COVID-19.
[Credit Matthew Capon]
How it began
Matthew Fowler painted the first heart in March 2021 after he lost his father to COVID-19. In the same month, he co-founded the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, urging government action.
The unique memorial quickly gained public support, and over ten days during March and April 2021, more than a thousand volunteers hand-painted approximately 150,000 hearts using Posca pens.
In August 2021, a group of volunteers came together to ensure the Wall’s survival.
Volunteers hand-painting the memorial. [Credit, Matthew Capon]
The Friends Of The Wall
The Wall is now maintained by a group of ten volunteers, who lost family members to COVID-19, known as The Friends of the Wall. They gather every Friday with masonry paint and brushes to restore fading hearts, repair the wall, and add new tributes.
Since 2022, The Friends of the Wall have campaigned to make the memorial permanent. On the first anniversary of the wall, a petition signed by 1,006 people was presented to Parliament, calling for the wall to be officially recognised and protected. They have also participated in government consultations and meetings to ensure the wall’s long-term preservation.
Kirsten Hackman, a member of the group, told City News, “We are all delighted with the announcement.” She added, “It’s incredibly welcomed, we look forward to working with the DCMS moving forward, it has been a long time coming.” “We’ve all lost somebody and it matters to us that our collective loss across the UK is remembered.”
The group often hosts Facebook Live sessions from the wall to connect with people across the UK.
Terry Sandwell, a member of The Friends of the Wall, said “we’ll never let anybody be forgotten.”
The Lambeth mural has since become an internationally recognised landmark for Covid bereavement, offering a place of reflection for visitors worldwide.
The Wall exists “to ensure that those lost to Covid-19 in the UK are remembered as people, not statistics.”
The project began in March 2021, during the second year of the pandemic.
Preserving the Wall
There are challenges with preserving the wall long term. As The Friends Of The Wall explained, the memorial is made of Portland stone, which is porous and requires moisture.
There are also a variety of owners, but The Friends of the Wall are working closely with all stakeholders to plan how the wall can be preserved effectively.
What Next?
The government is now considering long term protections for the mural. This includes looking into conservation methods, possible heritage status and formal partnerships with the volunteers who care for it.
Culture Minister Baroness Twycross praised the initiative, saying: “Many families did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one. Today, we commit to ensuring that those who died are not forgotten.”
Cllr Claire Holland, the Leader of Lambeth Council, said
“The memorial wall expresses our sadness and grief at those we lost to the pandemic so poignantly. We have also formed great bonds of friendship and unity as a council through the memorial wall, engaging with the Friends of the Wall and supporting their lobbying of government for this recognition.”
To read more about the vital work The Friends of the Wall do, please click here.
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HeadlineLondon’s National COVID Memorial Wall to Be Officially Preserved by the Government
Short HeadlineLondon’s National COVID Memorial Wall to Be Preserved, UK Government Confirms
StandfirstThe unique Lambeth mural, created and maintained by bereaved volunteers for the past five years, is being made a permanent tribute to honour the lives lost during the pandemic.
The government plans to officially preserve the National Covid Memorial Wall in Lambeth which was created as a grassroots project by campaigners during the March 2021 lockdown.
The Wall, situated along the River Thames by St Thomas’ Hospital, a major centre of the UK’s COVID-19 response, features over 250,000 hand-painted red hearts and spans 540 metres, directly opposite the Houses of Parliament.
Each heart commemorates and represents a life and a loved one lost to COVID-19.
[Credit Matthew Capon]
How it began
Matthew Fowler painted the first heart in March 2021 after he lost his father to COVID-19. In the same month, he co-founded the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, urging government action.
The unique memorial quickly gained public support, and over ten days during March and April 2021, more than a thousand volunteers hand-painted approximately 150,000 hearts using Posca pens.
In August 2021, a group of volunteers came together to ensure the Wall’s survival.
Volunteers hand-painting the memorial. [Credit, Matthew Capon]
The Friends Of The Wall
The Wall is now maintained by a group of ten volunteers, who lost family members to COVID-19, known as The Friends of the Wall. They gather every Friday with masonry paint and brushes to restore fading hearts, repair the wall, and add new tributes.
Since 2022, The Friends of the Wall have campaigned to make the memorial permanent. On the first anniversary of the wall, a petition signed by 1,006 people was presented to Parliament, calling for the wall to be officially recognised and protected. They have also participated in government consultations and meetings to ensure the wall’s long-term preservation.
Kirsten Hackman, a member of the group, told City News, “We are all delighted with the announcement.” She added, “It’s incredibly welcomed, we look forward to working with the DCMS moving forward, it has been a long time coming.” “We’ve all lost somebody and it matters to us that our collective loss across the UK is remembered.”
The group often hosts Facebook Live sessions from the wall to connect with people across the UK.
Terry Sandwell, a member of The Friends of the Wall, said “we’ll never let anybody be forgotten.”
The Lambeth mural has since become an internationally recognised landmark for Covid bereavement, offering a place of reflection for visitors worldwide.
The Wall exists “to ensure that those lost to Covid-19 in the UK are remembered as people, not statistics.”
The project began in March 2021, during the second year of the pandemic.
Preserving the Wall
There are challenges with preserving the wall long term. As The Friends Of The Wall explained, the memorial is made of Portland stone, which is porous and requires moisture.
There are also a variety of owners, but The Friends of the Wall are working closely with all stakeholders to plan how the wall can be preserved effectively.
What Next?
The government is now considering long term protections for the mural. This includes looking into conservation methods, possible heritage status and formal partnerships with the volunteers who care for it.
Culture Minister Baroness Twycross praised the initiative, saying: “Many families did not have the opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one. Today, we commit to ensuring that those who died are not forgotten.”
Cllr Claire Holland, the Leader of Lambeth Council, said
“The memorial wall expresses our sadness and grief at those we lost to the pandemic so poignantly. We have also formed great bonds of friendship and unity as a council through the memorial wall, engaging with the Friends of the Wall and supporting their lobbying of government for this recognition.”
To read more about the vital work The Friends of the Wall do, please click here.
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