War Memorial, Market Square, Bushmills, Co. Antrim

War Memorial, Bushmills

A granite and bronze War Memorial designed by renowned sculptor Charles Leonard Hartwell and erected in 1921 at the centre of Market Square, Bushmills. The memorial commemorates approximately 95 men from the village and surrounding district who died in the First World War, with the names of a further 33 men added following the Second World War.

The memorial comprises a smooth-cut granite two-stepped base surmounted by a rough-hewn granite plinth, crowned with a life-size bronze figure of a soldier. The bronze statue depicts an Ulster rifleman holding a rifle and bayonet, facing south-west. Bronze plaques bearing the names of the fallen are mounted on the rough-hewn plinth, along with a bronze wreath on the south-west side. A memorial plaque to Private Robert Quigg, recipient of the Victoria Cross for exceptional bravery at the Battle of the Somme, was added to the south-west side following his death in 1955.

Charles Leonard Hartwell, a London-based sculptor (1873-1951) best known for his war-related work, designed the memorial. Before being erected at Bushmills, the bronze statue was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. The memorial was constructed by local building contractors Messrs Christie, with the granite plinth created from stone. The completed memorial was officially unveiled on 5 November 1921 by Lady Edith MacNaghten of Dundarave House, whose own sons had been killed in the war.

The Petty Sessions District of Bushmills had raised £3,000 during the war for war comforts and related purposes. Following the conflict, £1,300 of this fund was allocated to the erection of the memorial. Hartwell's only other commission in Northern Ireland was the war memorial at the Mall in Armagh, unveiled in 1926. His most prominent work was the statue of St. George and the Dragon at Newcastle (1923).

In 2009, the War Memorials Trust provided a grant of £2,500 towards restoration works. The granite plinth was rebuilt due to cracks in the original stone, whilst the bronze statue, plaques and other metalwork were repaired by a specialist metal conservator.

The memorial occupies a prominent position on an island site at the centre of Market Square where Main Street, Lower Main Street and Bridge Street converge. It stands immediately west of the Clock Tower and the former library, and is an important structure within Bushmills Conservation Area.