Preston War Memorial

The Preston War Memorial stands in the Market Place, a large public space in central Preston, situated in front of the Post Office and the Sessions House and adjacent to the Harris Library and Museum. The memorial, erected in memory of those lost in the Great Wars and subsequent conflicts, is a 21-metre tall, tapering pylon constructed of Portland stone. Its design subtly echoes the profile of an earlier Boer War obelisk that previously occupied the same site. The top of the pylon features a square, sepulchral block with shallow pediments and corner acroteria, surmounted by a larger block decorated with swags held by cherubs.

At the base, the pylon rests on a large slab, with a projecting block supported on brackets forming a sarcophagus. A bronze cross within a wreath, crafted by Messrs JW Singer and Sons of Frome, adorns the front of the sarcophagus. Above, a non-canonical Ionic aedicule shelters a bronze figure of the Sorrowing Victory by Pegram, who holds wreaths aloft and is flanked by pairs of nude figures representing the dead ‘pleading for acceptance of their sacrifice'. The aedicule's head features a frieze of five cherubs holding hands, and its pediment incorporates scrolls enclosing a cartouche displaying the city arms—the Lamb of God, the symbol of Preston's patron saint, St Wilfred.

The principal dedicatory inscription, cut in gilded letters, reads: “BE EVER MINDFUL OF THE MEN OF PRESTON/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914 – 1918 1939 – 1945/ THIS LAND INVIOLATE YOUR MONUMENT.” The memorial stands on a high, two-stepped cruciform plinth. A pair of flagpoles with bronze bases, set on ornamented stone blocks, flank the memorial. The original paved surround, four terminal blocks, stepped approaches to the north and south, and flanking semi-circular raised beds were part of the initial design. More recent paving and curved raised beds now contribute to the memorial’s appearance, reflecting Scott’s original geometric proportions. A 2013 inscription on the west wall reads: “BE EVER PROUD OF THE PEOPLE OF PRESTON WHO/ HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES IN CONFLICTS SINCE 1945.”