Leominster War Memorial, Leominster, County of Herefordshire

Summary

A war memorial comprising a statue of winged victory,of 1922 by William G Storr-Barber with an adjacent memorial wall.

Description

A war memorial of 1922 by William G Storr-Barber with memorial wall.

MATERIALS: constructed of limestone with a bronze sculpture.

DESCRIPTION: comprising a statue of winged victory with right arm raised holding a torch on a tapering plinth and two-stepped base. The plinth is inscribed to the south face: TO/ THE GLORY OF THE/ GIVER OF VICTORY/ AND PEACE AND IN/ PROUD AND GRATEFUL/ REMEMBRANCE OF THE/ MEN OF LEOMINSTER/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR/ LIVES IN THE CAUSE OF/ HUMANITY IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 18. To the north face: ERECTED/ BY THE CITIZENS OF/ LEOMINSTER/ IN MEMORY OF THEIR/ GLORIOUS DEAD/ A.D. 1922/ AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE/ SUN. AND IN THE MORNING/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM. To the west: THESE WERE HIS SERVANTS/ IN HIS STEPS THEY TROD/ FOLLOWING THROUGH DEATH/ THE MARTYRD SON OF GOD/ VICTOR HE ROSE/ VICTORIOUS TOO SHALL DRIVE/ THEY WHO HAVE DRUNK/ HIS CUP OF SACRIFICE/ 1939. To the east: O VALIANT HEARTS/ WHO TO THEIR GLORY CAME/ THROUGH DUST OF CONFLICT/ AND THROUGH BATTLE-FLAME/ TRANQUIL YOU LIE/ YOUR KNIGHTLY VIRTUE PROVED/ YOU MEMORY HALLOWED/ IN THE LAND YOU LOVED.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: to the west of the memorial is a later rubble stone memorial wall with projecting return walls and wings to each side, partly enclosing a small area of bedding with concrete steps to the front. To the centre of the memorial wall is a granite memorial with palm leaf design and inscription: IN GLORIOUS/ HOPE. Three marble plaques to the fallen in the First World War are set within the memorial and inscribed thus: to the left: NAMES; to centre: THE INHABITANTS/ OF LEOMINSTER/ PLACE THIS TABLET/ TO PERPETUATE/ THE MEMORY OF/ THE GALLANT/ MEN FROM/ THE BOROUGH/ WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR HONOUR/ AND FREEDOM IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ OF 1914-1919; to right: NAMES. To the left return wall is a marble plaque inscribed: 1939-45/ ARMY/ NAMES. To the right return wall is a marble plaque inscribed: 1939-45/ ROYAL NAVY/ NAMES/ ROYAL AIR FORCE/ NAMES.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. One such memorial was raised at Leominster and unveiled by John Stanhope Arkwright on 17 August 1922 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by those who fell in the First World War. Arkwright’s poem ‘The Supreme Sacrifice’ (1919) provides the words for the hymn ‘O Valiant Hearts’, which figures prominently in Remembrance Day services throughout the United Kingdom, and has been inscribed on the monument plinth. The year before the erection of the memorial an acorn brought from Verdun, France was planted by Alderman Henry Gosling, MA to the north-east of the memorial site, in memory of the fallen.

After much public debate over the type of memorial to be commissioned, and the choice of a suitable site, the memorial was erected on a former ‘chestnut patch’ in Grange Park, to the south of the entrance to the Priory Church of St Peter and St Paul. It takes the form of a bronze statue of winged victory set on a stone plinth and was designed by local sculptor William G Storr-Barber, who was responsible for a number of memorials across the county and further afield. The memorial is shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1928 with a ‘Russian Gun’ marked to the east. This was a spoil of the Crimean War (1853-6), a cannon similar to those installed in many other towns and cities across the country following the end of the war in 1856. The gun is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey Map of 1887 and was “removed for munitions” in April 1943.

The memorial was later altered with inscriptions from ‘O Valiant Hearts’ in recognition of sacrifices made during the Second World War. In 1955 memorial gates with gates piers and lamps and a plaque were installed at the churchyard entrance to the north. In front of the gates, on the site of the Russian Gun and possibly using its former stone base, a rose garden was created. The new structures were dedicated on Sunday 10 July 1955 by Reverend S M F Woodhouse. To the west of the memorial is a recessed memorial wall with steps, planting and memorial plaques. It is not shown on historic maps and may have been created in the later C20 with reused memorials from the town hall. The memorial and memorial wall were subject to a War Memorials Trust grant repair in 2018.

In 2020 the Verdun Oak has a plaque noting its year of planting. The main gates to the churchyard appear to have been have been replaced and the pedestrian gates and lamps removed. Street furniture memorialising the First World War has been installed next to the former rose garden.

Reasons for Listing

Leominster War Memorial and memorial wall is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* it is an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* the memorial was unveiled in 1922 by John Stanhope Arkwright who had provided the words for the hymn ‘O Valiant Hearts’, which figures prominently in Remembrance Day services throughout the United Kingdom and has been inscribed on the monument plinth.

Architectural interest:

* it is a well-detailed war memorial including a bronze statue of winged victory by William G Storr-Barber;
* the memorial wall also has architectural interest and is a well-articulated design.

Group value:

* it has group value with Priory Church of St Peter and St Paul (Grade I and Scheduled Monument) and Grange Court (Grade II*).

External Links

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