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

A First World War memorial, built around 1921. Read the official list entry to find out more.

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

User submitted image — Uploaded by Mick Cahill This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

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

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

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
MITCHELL Henry Charles 1874-1947, accessed 10 October 2022 from https://www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/mitchell-henry-charles
War Memorials Online: Ref WMO/104944, accessed 10 October 2022 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/104944/
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.