Newbury Town War Memorial

The Newbury Town War Memorial, built in 1922, is a significant structure designed by Sir Mervyn Macartney, with masonry work completed by Messrs T Thorn and Sons of Newbury and bronze work by Messrs Gardners and Sons of Bristol.

Constructed from Portland stone for the memorial shaft and screen wall, and limestone for the base, the memorial features cast bronze inscribed plaques. It is situated in a quadrant plot, separated from the north-east corner of St Nicholas’s churchyard by a curved screen wall that adjoins the churchyard walls, and is enclosed from the street by iron railings. The memorial rises from a stepped octagonal base.

Standing at 5 meters tall, the memorial features a lantern cross with an octagonal shaft topped by a Decorated gothic-style tabernacle adorned with intricate mouldings. It includes four canopied niches that house statues of saints Nicholas, Michael, George, and Martin, supported by angel corbels. The structure has an octagonal pedestal set upon a square base, which is further elevated by four octagonal steps.

Behind the cross is a two-stage screen wall. The lower stage, which encloses the memorial from the churchyard, displays 13 rectangular plaques. The central plaque is inscribed with the words ‘IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918’, while the plaques on either side list the names of 338 fallen men and one woman.

An upper stage was added to the center of the screen wall after the Second World War, featuring seven panels. The central panel bears the inscription ‘IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WAR / 1939 – 1945’, with the names of 171 men listed on the panels flanking it. The upper stage is bordered by iron rails that connect it to the churchyard walls.