Insight

Philip (Left) visited the printers, who also are the printers for HM Government, Parliament and Westminster Abbey, to receive the ledger. He is pictured here with Barry (Right), the Senior Bookbinder of the firm.

Historic Ledger Preserved for Future Generations

A historic ledger containing coffin plate inscriptions dating back nearly 150 years has recently been rebound and preserved for generations to come. The ledger, found in JH Kenyon's Westbourne Grove offices, contain reproductions of the elaborate breast plates used on the coffins of the great and the good from the late Victorian era; the first plate from 1872.

JH Kenyon Business Manager, Philip Smyth approached London firm Barnard and Westwood Ltd, Printers and Bookbinders to HM The Queen, to see if there was any way the book could be re-bound and preserved. They readily agreed to undertake the project, and the restoration work took several days.

This involved the individual pages being removed, re-stitched together and rebound, with a guarantee of 100 years. The ledger is now on display at JH Kenyon's Westbourne Grove.