Gheluvelt Park Arch, Gates and Railings

A memorial gateway designed and built by Alfred Hill Parker in 1924.

MATERIALS: the archway is of red, Flemish-bond brick with stone dressings and a tiled cap. The gates and screens are of cast and wrought iron.

PLAN: the gateway has brick piers set at either side of the central arch, with angled wing walls and railings to either side and iron gates to the central arch.

EXTERIOR: both eastern and western faces are similar. The brick arch has banded rustication to the lower body of the piers at either side and this is topped by a projecting band of headers at the level of the springing of the arch. A raised band of stretchers surrounds the semi-circular arch and there is a triple keystone motif of bricks to the head. The spandrels at either side on both the eastern and western flanks have brick carvings of laurel wreaths in high relief. The wall diminishes in thickness by stages and to the top of the wall is a frieze with panels of raised brickwork. Both sides have a stone panel to the centre, and that on the eastern front reads ‘GHELUVELT PARK’. Above this is an ashlar cornice and the monument is topped by a hipped cap of pantiles.

At either side of the arch are half piers, abutting the flanks. These are panelled with moulded ashlar bases and caps. The finials take the form of square vases from which rise stunted obelisks. Angled, wrought-iron screens set above low walls project to either side and connect to full piers with similar dressings and caps. The two central gates have panels of wrought iron and cast metal panels showing the arms of the city with miniature stunted-obelisk finials, in imitation of the stone caps to the piers. The piers are connected to other railings and piers which appear to be of later date and photographs of the Earl of Ypres opening the park, show a picket fence.

On the eastern side of the archway are fixed two gilded bronze panels. That to the left reads 'THIS PARK WAS OPENED / ON THE 17TH JUNE 1922 / BY / FIELD MARSHAL / THE RT. HON. THE EARL OF YPRES / PC, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG.' On the left pier is a panel which reads 'CITY of WORCESTER HOMES / for DISABLED SAILORS and SOLDIERS / THESE HOMES WERE ERECTED / BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE / CITY and COUNTY of WORCESTER / THE SCHEME BEING ORIGINATED BY / ALD. ARTHUR CARLTON CBE / THE FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID BY / FIELD MARSHAL / SIR WILLIAM ROBERTSON GCB, KCVO, DSO / ON 15TH JAN 1919 THE HOMES OPENED BY / GENERAL LORD RAWLINSON GCB, GCVO, KCMG / ON 13TH JULY 1920'.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.