Burnley War Memorial

The Burnley War Memorial is a First World War memorial erected in 1926 by the County Borough of Burnley. It was designed by Walter Gilbert and Louis Weingartner, with construction undertaken by HH Martyn & Co of Cheltenham, and stands approximately 70 metres southeast of Towneley Hall, a country house with late medieval origins whose gardens and pleasure grounds developed largely in the mid to late 18th century. The memorial is situated within a small triangular garden of remembrance, enclosed by clipped hedges and surrounded by mature trees.

The memorial comprises a grey granite plinth supporting a concave wall of Portland stone. The wall tapers slightly and culminates in three monumental bronze figures appearing to emerge from it: a soldier in the centre wearing a great coat and holding a military telescope, a seaman to the left with a bare torso and coat draped over his arm, and an airman to the right wearing a helmet, scarf and aviator goggles. Flanking these figures are two over-lifesize bronze statues of women: on the left, a mother wearing a shawl and headscarf, stooping to lay a wreath, with a rosemary branch and a cricket bat and ball placed nearby; and on the right, a wife or sister in a flowing gown gazing upwards and holding a large floral garland, with a large palm leaf at her feet.

An inscription at the base of the wall reads: "THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED IN MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF BURNLEY WHO GAVE THEIR / LIVES FOR THEIR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 / Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in Glory everlasting” (a quotation from the Te Deum). A further inscription beneath acknowledges those who died for freedom during 1939-1945. The rear of the memorial is inscribed to acknowledge the bequest from Caleb Thornber, a former mayor and alderman, to ensure the sacrifice would be “held in grateful remembrance”, and to recognise the provision of the garden of remembrance by the townspeople of Burnley.

The memorial stands on a shallow stone platform within a circular paved enclosure, bisected by a pathway and bounded by low walls with terminal posts. A hemispherical pond is situated within the front section of the enclosure.