The Lincoln War Memorial That Never Was

In May 1920 the City Council granted permission for the erection of a war memorial outside the Sessions House on Lindum Road. The planned memorial was designed by Reginald Blomfield, the architect of Lincoln Central Library.

This new landmark in the city, which was described as being of “a noble and inspiring character”, was to take the form of a huge figure of Victory mounted on a plinth of Portland stone. The statue itself would have measured 14 feet 6 inches in height, with the laurel wreath in its left hand adding an additional 3 feet. Victory’s right hand was shown holding a dying soldier lying across her feet. The pedestal, which would have been even taller than the statue, was to be largely unadorned, except for a carving of the city’s coat of arms with an inscription beneath.

The total cost for erecting the memorial was estimated at £6,500 and, in addition to soliciting for donations to be made through the London City and Midland Bank (now the HSBC), it was intended that a house to house collection would be arranged. In the event, the entire scheme eventually came to nothing and the city’s war memorial was finally erected in St Benedict’s Square. This memorial, which resembles a medieval wayside cross, was unveiled in November 1922.