The Arch of Remembrance

The Arch of Remembrance is a First World War memorial, constructed in the 1920s by Sir Edwin Lutyens, and located at the south-east end of War Memorial Approach within Victoria Park (a Grade II registered park). The north-west end of War Memorial Approach is marked by gates and gate piers, also designed by Lutyens and possessing a Grade II* listing.

The memorial stands approximately 21 metres tall and takes the form of a triumphal arch, with a square plan. It features large, wide arches facing north-west and south-east, and smaller, lower arches to the north-east and south-west. Lutyens calculated the proportions using Imperial measurements: the main arches are 18 feet wide, 36 feet tall and 9 feet deep; the subsidiary arches measure 12 feet by 24 feet by 6 feet. Stone wreaths carved in relief flank the arches on both the front and rear. Wreaths on the left side encircle the dates MCM/XIV, while those on the right encircle MCM/XIX. Above this is a heavy attic, with a concave-fronted feature that is larger on the north-east and south-west sides and smaller and at a different height on the north-west and south-east sides. The city’s arms are carved in relief and appear suspended from large swags, above which is a low dome.

The main arch has a coffered barrel vault, with a similar, lower crossing vault to each of the side arches. Four painted stone flags are set inside the archway, raised on corbels on each pier; these depict the Union Flag and the flags of the three armed services. An inscription above the main arch, facing War Memorial Approach, reads "GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND ON EARTH PEACE." On the opposite side, facing into the park, the inscription reads "ALL THEY HOPED FOR, ALL THEY HAD, THEY GAVE/ TO SAVE MANKIND - THEMSELVES THEY SCORNED TO SAVE." Inscriptions relating to the Second World War are carved towards the base of the piers, facing into the park, inscribed MCM/XXXIX on the left and MCM/XLV on the right.

Above the north-east side arch is inscribed "REMEMBER IN GRATITUDE TWELVE THOUSAND MEN/ OF THIS CITY AND COUNTY/ WHO FOUGHT AND DIED FOR FREEDOM./ REMEMBER ALL WHO SERVED AND STROVE/ AND THOSE WHO PATIENTLY ENDURED." Above the south-west side arch is inscribed “I WILL NOT CEASE FROM MENTAL FIGHT/ NOR SHALL MY SWORD SLEEP IN MY HAND/ TILL WE HAVE BUILT JERUSALEM/ IN ENGLAND'S GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND.”

The exterior is encircled by a circle of iron railings. Four pairs of rusticated stone gate piers, ornamented with a Greek key pattern and swags, are topped with urns raised on short pillars and carry gates providing access opposite each of the memorial’s arches. The urns are smaller versions of those that surmount Lutyens’s cenotaph for the Royal Berkshire Regiment in Reading.