COVID-19 Memorials: a bespoke commemoration
Written by: Annissa Cole
Published: 25th March 2026
It’s hard to believe that it’s four years since J.Gumbrill unveiled its bespoke pieces to commemorate the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, Annissa looks back on how the memorials were created and why they were important.
In Hills Cemetery, in Horsham, and by the War Memorial in Hurstpierpoint, sit two very important pieces of stonework. Although neither is large in stature, what they represent is massive.
The COVID-19 pandemic touched all our lives, and will continue to do so for many years. As well as a significant number of deaths (over 226,00 people depending on how the counting is done), there are large numbers of people still living with ‘long COVID’. Schools and parents are coping with the ongoing impact of children being educated at home. Many ways of working have changed forever- for example, prior to the pandemic, less than 5% of people usually worked at home, while last year about 63% of UK workers did some of their job remotely. In some ways, it was a divisive time. However, it was also a time that brought communities together- people looking out for elderly neighbours, joining on doorsteps to thank key workers and appreciating the beauty of the outdoors in the amazing summer of 2020.
Opinions will vary on how the pandemic was managed and what things were done right and wrong. However, there is no doubt that it was a significant time in all our lives and the worst pandemic in most living memories. J.Gumbrill felt very strongly that we needed to remember this time, and commissioned and constructed two beautiful memorials to keep memories alive.
Designing the memorials was one of the hardest parts of the process. How could we possibly encapsulate the wide variety of experiences that our society had gone through in one piece? We knew people’s thoughts and feelings about the pandemic covered a wide spectrum from those who had thrived with getting some space in furlough to those who had been truly miserable, and everything in between. Ultimately, we wanted to reflect these varied perspectives and so we took a collaborative view. The J.Gumbrill team, together with our colleagues at Freeman Brothers and friends and family, collected a series of words that we thought were meaningful. We also decided to set classic slate tablets into local Horsham stone. We felt this reflected both our local area and our communities who were the focus of this remembrance, as well as a longer tradition of work in stone which slate conveys.
We then asked our skilled letter cutter, Paul, to create a design for us. We left it up to his artistic talent, only giving him the specific wording and a request to include a daffodil, which by this point had become associated with COVID-19 remembrance. The result is a striking design, simple and modern but also classic in its composition.
The construction of the pieces was a simple but careful process. We visited the quarry to choose the pieces of Horsham stone we felt were the best of what was available. Space was cut into them for the tablets. Paul carved the tablets to his design and they were then affixed by Richard, our memorial mason.
The monuments were installed just before 23rd March 2022, on the second anniversary of the UK’s first COVID-19 lockdown. Both were accompanied by a ceremony of remembrance, to commemorate the difficult time we had experience, remember those we had lost, and say thank you to all those who helped us navigate this difficult time. Local people and organisations joined with us in these ceremonies.
The Horsham memorial sits just outside Hills Cemetery Chapel. The Hurstpierpoint memorial is near the War Memorial adjacent to Holy Trinity Church. Both of these are quiet places, there are lots of daffodils in Spring and nearby benches so visitors can sit for a while, if they wish.
J.Gumbrill keeps the memorials clean and tidy, renovating them each Spring. They are a small contribution to the collective efforts that many people have made to ensure the difficult times of Covid-19 were not forgotten.
Thanks for your time, Annissa.
