Summary
War memorial, 1920. Additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Brackley War Memorial, in the town's central Market Place, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: an ambitious and slightly unusual design, whose scale befits its prominent place in the town’s Market Place;
* Group value: with various listed buildings around the Market Place, including the Town Hall (Grade II*).
History
The memorial was unveiled on 5 October 1920 by General Lord Horne. Additional names and inscriptions were added in 1945 commemorating the dead of the Second World War. The memorial was cleaned and the lettering repainted in 1989. In 2006 as part of civic improvements the memorial was moved within the Market Place closer to the Town Hall. The name of a serviceman killed in Afghanistan has been added. The memorial was cleaned and the lettering re-painted in 2014.
Details
The memorial stands in the south-west part of Brackley’s long Market Place, in a pedestrianized area in front of the Grade II*-listed Town Hall. Of Clipsham limestone, it comprises a three-stepped octagonal base surmounted by a c6 m high, three-tiered, octagonal column, each face slightly concave, surmounted by a cross. The lowest tier carries the names of the theatres of war and the great battles. The 68 names of the fallen from the First World War are recorded in the middle tier. The principal dedication, inscribed on a plaque on the upper part of the middle tier, reads TO THE MEN OF/ BRACKLEY/ WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR KING/ AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919. Above the plaque, in a decorative cartouche, are the arms of Brackley.
End of official list entry
