Smethurst Memorial

The Smethurst Memorial is a memorial obelisk located in Peoples Park, Grimsby, and was created around 1892 by RW Ray of Grimsby. It is made of limestone and features a square-section stepped plinth that is inscribed with "R. W. RAY, CARVER, GRIMSBY." The square base includes a relief carving of a portrait medallion and a mayoral mace, flanked by coats of arms. An inscription on the base commemorates Alderman Henry Smethurst, who served as Mayor of Grimsby in 1886 and 1887, was Chairman of the School Board from 1880 to 1889, and was born in 1819 and died in 1892.

The right side of the memorial is inscribed with a tribute to Smethurst's dedication to the Primitive Methodist Church and the temperance movement for over fifty years. The left side acknowledges that his fellow citizens raised this monument to honor his character in both his private and public life.

Above the plinth, the obelisk is realistically carved and adorned with an array of sailing and fishing gear, including ropes, cables, pulleys, nets, sails, flags, chains, anchors, and a buoy marked GV180, along with seaweed, crabs, and barnacles. Smethurst was a prominent figure in Grimsby and owned the largest fleet of fishing smacks in the port. Peoples Park, where the memorial is situated, was landscaped with a lake, trees, and flower beds and was presented to the town by Lord Heneage in 1883.