War Memorial Portico At The Cottage Hospital

911/0/10007 COVENTRY ROAD 25-MAR-09 WAR MEMORIAL PORTICO AT THE COTTAGE HO SPITAL

II

Also Known As: WAR MEMORIAL PORTICO AT MARKET HARBOROUGH & DISTRICT HOSPTIAL, COVENTRY ROAD First World War Memorial; stone with marble panels and bronze plaque; octagonal in plan. The Cottage Hospital and its memorial wing are not of special architectural or historical interest.

EXTERIOR: The memorial forms the entrance to the memorial wing of a cottage hospital. It has a moulded cornice, with frieze and architrave supported by Tuscan columns at four corners of the three open sides of the octagon. There is a bronze plaque with a scrolled lower edge attached to the frieze between the two front columns inscribed with the following: 'This extension erected by public subscription/ in commemoration of the services of the men of the urban district of Market Harborough in the /Great War. 1914-1918'.

INTERIOR: The remaining five sides of the memorial are recessed within the hospital building, with double doors at the back giving access to the memorial wing. Above the door is a marble tablet with the following inscription: 'The names inscribed on these panels are a record of the/ men from the urban district who served in the Great War./ The names of men who gave their lives are indicated by a cross'. The other four sides, two either side of the door, are filled with marble tablets framed in stone, inscribed with 953 names of those who served; those who died are indicated by a red cross by their name.

HISTORY: A public meeting held in Market Harborough on 12th December 1918 proposed that the town should have two war memorials. The first was a column or cross in the town square to commemorate those who died in the Great War, but the second was to be a free library and reading room in the centre of town in recognition of all those who served. The memorial in the square (listed at Grade II) was dedicated on 21st Sept 1921, but the plans for the library never materialised, and instead were transformed into a memorial extension to the Cottage Hospital, opened in 1923. The hospital was built in 1909.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: The memorial portico to Market Harborough and District Hospital is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

• It is a reminder of the tragic impact of world events on local communities.

• It is a simple classical structure that provides a dignified setting to plaques commemorating all those from Market Harborough who served in the First World War.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 19 January 2017.