WORK is under way to restore a historic Marlow statue damaged by the elements.

The Frohman statue has occupied a spot on Marlow High Street since 1924.

The Portland stone sculpture was dedicated to Charles Frohman – a New York theatre producer who made the story of Peter Pan famous when he brought the play to London.

Mr Frohman, a regular visitor to Marlow, died when the Luscitania was torpedoed in 1915. Peter Pan creator J .M. Barrie sat on a committee that decided to honour his memory with the statue of a young woman sat atop a plinth.

However, in recent years the statue has become damaged by the weather. One of the feet has fallen off and the face is largely worn away.

As such, Marlow Town Council and The Marlow Society have sent the statue to be repaired at restoration firm Cliveden Conservation.

Katy Ross, assistant to the managing director, said: “We're cleaning it and repairing it.

“Basically we're just making sure it's stable and making her look good to go back on site.”

Conservators have been carving new feet for the statue and using mortar to rebuild the face.

Luckily they have a smaller copy of the statue to use as a reference.

This has sat inside at Chelsea Town Hall since it was sculpted and is largely undamaged.

Katy said: “We've got a pretty good record of exactly what she would look like.”

The project is expected to cost between £8,000 and £10,000 and will be paid for by the town council and The Marlow Society.