Standing in Victoria Park in Leicester, the Arch of Remembrance is one of the most striking First World War memorials in England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the arch rises 69 feet (21 metres) above the park and can be seen from the main southward routes out of the city. It sits at the intersection of paths leading from the University Road entrance and the London Road entrance to the park, placing it at the natural centre of foot traffic through this part of Leicester’s East Midlands setting.
Design and Structure
The memorial takes the form of a tetrapylon, or quadrifrons – a single Portland stone arch with four legs forming four arched openings. The two main openings on the north-west to south-east axis each reach 36 feet (11 metres) tall, while the two smaller side openings measure 24 feet (7.3 metres) tall. A large dome sits at the top of the structure. Inside, the ceiling is decorated with a coffered pattern, and painted stone flags on the legs represent each branch of the British armed forces and the Merchant Navy. The arch is surrounded by decorative iron railings, with a set of gates at the University Road entrance and a pair of gates and lodges at the London Road entrance added later. One carefully considered detail is the alignment of the main arches: at sunrise on 11 November each year, Armistice Day, sunlight passes directly through them.
History and Construction
Leicester’s industries had contributed substantially to the British war effort, and after 1918 the city felt the weight of its losses. A temporary memorial went up in 1917, and by 1919 a committee had formed to plan something permanent. Lutyens was appointed architect, and his first proposal was accepted before being scaled back and eventually cancelled through lack of funds. The committee returned to him with a request for a memorial arch, which he presented at a public meeting in 1923. The finished structure cost £27,000, though the committee faced a shortfall of £5,500, which several members covered from their own pockets. The local press criticised the committee’s handling of the fundraising campaign. The arch was unveiled on 4 July 1925 by two local widows, with Lutyens himself present in the crowd.
Recognition and Legacy
The Arch of Remembrance holds Grade I listed building status, placing it among the most protected historic structures in England. Since 2015 it has formed part of a national collection of Lutyens war memorials. With its full budget devoted entirely to the structure rather than spread across a wider site, it is considered one of Lutyens’s largest and most imposing memorial works. Building development over the intervening decades has reduced the number of vantage points from which it is visible, but it continues to dominate Victoria Park and the surrounding area.