Stourbridge War Memorial

Heritage listing

Details First World War memorial, 1923, with later additions. MATERIALS: granite, Darley Dale stone, bronze. DESCRIPTION: the Classical memorial stands in Mary Stevens Park, to the south of the Grade II-listed north gates. It takes the form of a tall pier rising from a base, and is surmounted by an allegorical female figure, Victorious Peace, with name plaques and sculpted panels to the sides. The three-stepped granite platform supports the Darley Dale stone base and pier. The north and south faces of the pier are clasped by pilasters that terminate below the pier’s cap, ornamented with a Greek key design below their capitals. Bronze lion’s heads look out from either side, over each pilaster. The staged and moulded cap of the pier supports the bronze of Victorious Peace: kneeling on one knee and leaning forward, she holds out a wreath in her right hand whilst supporting herself on the pole of a partly-furled flag, held in her left hand. John Cassidy’s signature, with the date 1922, is inscribed in the statue base to the front. The main bronze panel to the front face of the pier is headed by a laurel wreath encircling the badge of the Worcestershire Regiment. The principal dedicatory inscription below reads: IN/ GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF/ STOURBRIDGE WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918/ (NAMES). At the foot of this panel, a low relief bronze depicting a plumed helmet, fasces, and a wreath of stylised palm leaves, marks the transition from base to pier. A similar panel and bronze reliefs on the rear of the pier includes further names listed under the dates 1914 – 1918. The north-facing pilaster and the north face of the base carry bronze plaques with inscriptions including commemorated names and the record: THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED BY PUBLIC/ SUBSCR

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.