Spalding War Memorial

The Spalding War Memorial comprises a brick pavilion known as the Temple of Remembrance, situated within the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall. The Hall itself is a Grade I listed building, while the gardens are Grade II listed. The memorial garden is located in the southern area of these gardens.

The Temple of Remembrance is a brick structure with three Tuscan stone arches facing the front, and a single arch on each side, with a solid rear wall. The roof is hipped and covered in red pantiles. The floor features panels of red herringbone brickwork with stone surrounds. Painted stone flags – the Union Flag on the left and the White Ensign on the right – are displayed on the rear wall, with ornamental pinnacles and laurel wreaths adorning the tops of the flagpoles; the bases of the flagpoles are currently missing, though corbels are present against the wall for their support. Three panels are set on the inner rear wall: the central panel bears the dedication and names added in 2015, while the flanking panels list the names of those who fell in the First World War. The principal dedication, incised on the central panel, reads: "IN LOVE AND HONOUR/ OF THOSE WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN/ THE YEARS OF WAR/ MCMXIV – MCMXIX/ THIS MEMORIAL IS RAISED/ IN THEIR HOME/ BY THE MEN AND WOMEN/ OF/ SPALDING." Additional names were inscribed in 2015. A carved inscription around the interior frieze reads: “ETERNAL REST GRANT TO THEM O LORD AND LET LIGHT PERPETUAL SHINE UPON THEM."

In front of the pavilion, raised on a three-step platform, stands a Stone of Remembrance, designed by Lutyens for the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission. The north face bears the inscription “THEIR NAME LIVETH/ FOR EVERMORE” with the dates 1914/ 1918 and 1939/ 1945 displayed to either side.

An axial canal, appearing on a John Grundy map of 1732, extends from the Stone of Remembrance and was redesigned by Lutyens as a reflecting pool. It features ashlar side walls, a flagged surround, and three stone fountains, which are a later addition. Square herbaceous beds at the south-west and south-east corners of the canal contain mature yew trees, and the garden is enclosed by mature yew hedging. Asphalt paths run around the garden’s perimeter. Iron-work arches, dating from circa 1994, lead through the eastern yew hedge to a contemporary Peace Garden, but these are not considered to be of special interest and are excluded from the listing.