Memorial Archway at Stourbridge War Memorial Athletic Ground

The Memorial Archway at Stourbridge War Memorial Athletic Ground is a war memorial that serves as the entrance to a sports ground. It was designed by Geoffrey Ince, the Stourbridge Borough Surveyor, at a cost of £220 and was unveiled in December 1928.

The archway is constructed from red Ketley brick, laid in English bond, with stone dressings and a pantiled cap. The gates are made of cast and wrought iron by Hill and Smith of Brierley Hill.

Both the eastern and western faces of the archway are similar in design. The brick arch features banded rustication on the lower body of the piers on either side, topped by a projecting band of headers at the springing level of the arch. A raised band of stretchers surrounds the semi-circular arch, which is adorned with a triple keystone motif of bricks at the top. The spandrels on both flanks display carved stone laurel wreaths in high relief. The wall gradually decreases in thickness, culminating in a frieze with panels of raised brickwork at the top. Each side has a central stone panel; the one on the eastern side, facing the road, reads ‘STOURBRIDGE / WAR MEMORIAL / ATHLETIC GROUND’. Above this is a projecting brick cornice, and the archway is topped with a hipped cap of pantiles. The western face is similar, but the central stone plaque is blank. Piers on either side connect to lateral flanking walls that run north-south, with the southern wall featuring a gateway at its southern end, flanked by brick piers.