The cockerel that sits atop the spire of Monmouth’s tallest building has just been restored and replaced yet again.

Sculptor Phil Chatfield had only recently restored St Mary’s Priory Church weathervane in 2007 after it had been hit by a lightning strike in the early 2000s. Now further damage caused by storms Arwen and Dennis meant the 1792 copper ore cockerel had to be repaired and regilded once more.

The weathervane was made from Cornish copper ore mined West of Camborne at Gwennap. Exported to Swansea by ship and then smelted to form the copper sheet for John Rudge of Ross on Wye to fashion into the cockerel in 1792.

The 2007 restoration revealed a bullet hole in its tail where it is thought it may have been used as target practice from the camp on Vauxhall many years ago.

The cockerel was also given a makeover in 1882.

Phil, an old Monmothian, took it on a trip to Cornwall where it first came from before climbing up St Mary’s spire on Friday July 7 at noon with the steeplejack to finally put it back in it’s rightful place. “It’s been a pleasure to bring him back to the top of the town where he has surveyed all since 1792” said Phil. 

To date Philip has only found one other John Rudge cockerel. It sits atop the spire of St Giles church at Goodrich, however it has lost both legs and has no wings

The same copper that the Monmouth cockerel was made from was used to sheath the hulls of ships like HMS VICTORY which made them sail better, preventing weed growth on the hulls thus streamlining them through the water and a great help at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.