New Bradwell War Memorial Clock Tower

Summary

The New Bradwell War Memorial Clock Tower, a Second World War memorial unveiled in 1962, and designed by Mr Bootham of the Buckingham County Council Architect’s Department.

Reasons for Designation

The New Bradwell Clock Tower War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events upon this local community.

Architectural interest:

* the bold Modernist design of the clock tower, showing the influence of the work of WM Dudok, is well-proportioned and carefully detailed.

Group value:

* with the 1857-60 Church of St James by GE Street, listed at Grade II*, standing a short distance to the east, and its Grade II-listed church hall and school, of the same date and also by Street, as well as the adjacent public house of 1860.

History

During the second part of the 1940s the local British Legion began raising funds for a memorial to commemorate the men of New Bradwell lost in the Second World War. The original intention was to provide a community hall, but a suitable site was not found, so it was decided instead to build a clock tower housing a book of remembrance. The nearby mid-C19 Church of St James by GE Street lacks the strong clock tower originally intended; it is possible that the projected memorial was seen as an opportunity for providing an alternative. The tower was designed by Mr Bootham of the Buckinghamshire County Council Architect’s Department; the contractor was HW Tarrant. The cost of the memorial was £1,700. The memorial was unveiled on 2 September 1962 by Dr J ML and Mrs Love, presidents of the New Bradwell District Branch and women’s section of the British Legion. It was dedicated on 2 September 1962 by the vicar of the Church of St James, Reverend RGM Russell, assisted by the Baptist minister, Reverend D M Harris, the Reverend AR Bidnell, Methodist Minister, and the Salvation Army Lieutenant, Miss Esme Lewis.

The names of the 15 local men killed in the Second World War are found in an additional inscription on the listed First World War Memorial in New Bradwell Cemetery.

Details

Clock tower, built as a Second World War memorial. The tower stands within an area of formal gardens.

MATERIALS: red brick set in Flemish bond, with lead cappings.

DESCRIPTION: a tapering tower rising in two stages, the lower stage forming the majority of the structure, and the upper stage being square in form. A recessed cross is set into the north elevation, above a doorway. There are windows with wide brick mullions to the west and east sides. Clock faces are positioned on the west and east faces of the upper stage: the numbers are represented by circular points. Above the doorway is a bronze plaque carrying the following inscription, with the well-known quotation from Laurence Binyon's poem 'For the Fallen' : ‘BRITISH LEGION/ NEW BRADWELL & DISTRICT BRANCH/ IN MEMORIAM/ THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD, AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD./ AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN./ AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING,/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM./ SEPTEMBER 2nd 1962.’

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, accessed 3 March 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/8219
War Memorials Online, accessed 4 March 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/215822/
Account of New Bradwell Clock Tower, accessed 4 March 2019 from http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/newbradwell00/Ctower.html

Other
Wolverton Express, 7 Sept 1962

End of official list entry

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