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Colchester

The Colchester war memorial has a three stepped granite base leading to an imposing limestone plinth with bronze figures representing St George and Peace on two sides and winged Victory on top. To each upper corner of the plinth is a carved head wearing a winged helmet. The memorial also has bronze plaques on the front and rear faces with the dedications to the fallen of World War I and later World War II. Behind the memorial are associated gates to Castle Park with stone piers surmounted by bronze lions holding shields and in front are stone columns with lanterns. The memorial is Grade II listed.

In 2010 an application was received to the Grants for War Memorials Scheme for the cleaning of the stone and bronze elements. Following this the bronze was to be re-patinated and treated with a micro-crystalline wax. In this instance the decision was made to apply a shelter coat to the areas of verdigris rather than attempting removal by poultice. This was due to the porosity of the stone and the expected depth that the staining had permeated. The grant awarded for these works was £3,960 against an overall project cost of £7,920.

In March 1919 a Monument Scheme Sub-committee was formed consisting of 13 members. The sub-committee chose the site for the memorial so that it would be in sight of where people lived and worked and would be passed regularly by people going about their daily business. The whole ensemble was designed by Henry Charles Fehr and erected in 1923 in commemoration of the fallen of World War I with a World War II dedication being added later. The memorial was constructed by a local firm, Messrs L. J. Watts and Co and the sculptures were produced by Mr Magnoni of Mr Fehrs studio. The memorial does not exhibit any names; however, individual names are on the associated vellum roll of honour in the Town Hall.

The construction of the war memorial was made possible by Lord and Lady Cowdray, who gave £10,000 to purchase Colchester Castle and present it to the town as their war memorial gift. This also allowed the purchase of the properties on the memorial site. These were demolished following approval from the Town Council in 1920 to make way for the memorials construction. The memorial itself was funded by public subscription. A terracotta casket containing various documents was placed in the foundations of the war memorial at the time of its construction.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM1709
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 2107

National Heritage List

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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