The Sebastopol Cannon including the lamp arch, supporting plinth and iron posts with chains surrounding it

The Sebastopol Cannon is a 19th-century cannon mounted on a wooden carriage, located on Churchgate. It is positioned on two stone steps and is topped with an iron overthrow that supports a street lamp. The cannon is surrounded by a chain guard and iron posts. It bears the inscription 'Captured Sevastopol 1855'. After the Crimean War ended in 1856, the government offered captured ordnance as trophies. Retford applied for one, and in April 1858, a 24-pounder cannon was delivered by rail, named ‘The Earl of Aberdeen’. The cannon was officially unveiled on 17 February 1859 by Gunner Cole of the Royal Artillery. During the Second World War, it was removed for scrap but was saved by Alderman Alfred Wilson. After the war, it was reinstated on a new wooden gun carriage and officially unveiled again on 29 March 1950 by the Mayor of Retford, Councillor T. Richmond. The cannon forms a visual group with the nearby buildings numbered 1 to 33 (odd) and 2 to 14 (even) on Chapelgate.