Monument To Sarah Lees

The monument to Sarah Lees is located in Werneth Park, Oldham, and was erected around 1938. It is made of white ashlar and bronze and features a tall pylon with crosses in relief on each side, rising from a hexagonal plinth that sits on a circular base. This base is positioned in the center of a raised flower bed, which is surrounded by a low stone retaining wall that includes mutilated drinking fountains at the cardinal points. The circular base displays low relief bronzes that depict the signs of the zodiac and figures representing the seasons, along with a bust of Sarah Lees and an inscription plate featuring additional low relief bronzes on the hexagon above. This monument was established in memory of Sarah Lees, who was a prominent local philanthropist and public figure, becoming the first woman on the Oldham town council in 1907 and serving as mayor in 1910. Upon her death in 1935, she bequeathed her former home in Werneth Park to the town.