Pooley Hall Colliery War Memorial
SK 25759 03044, Pooley Lane, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1JA
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1484232
- Date first listed:
- 16-Nov-2022
- List Entry Name:
- Pooley Hall Colliery War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- SK 25759 03044, Pooley Lane, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1JA
Location
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Official list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1484232
- Date first listed:
- 16-Nov-2022
- List Entry Name:
- Pooley Hall Colliery War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- SK 25759 03044, Pooley Lane, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1JA
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- SK 25759 03044, Pooley Lane, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1JA
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Warwickshire
- District:
- North Warwickshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Polesworth
- National Grid Reference:
- SK2576103041
Summary
A First World War memorial, built around 1921.
Reasons for Designation
Pooley Hall Colliery 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 on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural Interest:
* as a well-executed stone obelisk featuring a carved finial in the form of a flame, symbolic of the perpetual gratitude towards, and remembrance of, the war dead.
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
A memorial was raised at Pooley Hall Colliery in Polesworth as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 32 workers from the mine who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was designed by Charles Henry Mitchell, a monumental mason, landscape painter and local historian based in Tamworth. It was unveiled on 25 September 1921 by Lieutenant General Sir John Kier.
Details
A First World War memorial, built around 1921
MATERIALS: the memorial is carved from rough-hewn Cornish granite with leaded inscriptions.
PLAN: the memorial is roughly square on plan and stands within a rectangular area of hardstanding on the west side of Pooley Lane.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial is in the form of a tapered pillar with a carved finial in the form of a flame. It is set upon a pedestal surmounting a five-stepped plinth with a shallow, shaped base. It is surrounded by eight smaller pillars with carved, pointed finials. The hardstanding to the east side of the memorial has been inlaid with setts in the form of two crosses.
The names of the 32 workers who lost their lives are inscribed on the north and south faces of the pedestal. The east face of the memorial reads: ‘THIS PILLAR OF REMEMBRANCE / IS ERECTED BY THE WORKPEOPLE / AND OWNERS OF POOLEY HALL / COLLIERY TO THE UNDYING / MEMORY OF THOSE FROM THIS MINE / WHO ANSWERED THE NATION'S CALL / AND FELL IN THE GREAT WAR. / 1914-1919’. On the west face are the words: ‘WHO STANDS IF FREEDOM FALL? / WHO DIES IF ENGLAND LIVE?’
Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, accessed 10 October 2022 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/19078
War Memorials Online: Ref WMO/104944, accessed 10 October 2022 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/104944/
MITCHELL Henry Charles 1874-1947, accessed 10 October 2022 from https://www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/mitchell-henry-charles
Other
'Pooley Hall Heroes: war memorial unveiled at colliery', Hinkley Echo, 30 September 1921.
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 06:08:44.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry