Remembrance Sunday at Norwich war memorial
Norwich’s repaired and refurbished war memorial and Memorial Gardens were reopened in March 2011 after being closed for seven years.
The council closed the gardens to the public from November 2004 after engineers identified defects within the supporting structure. These weakened it to the point where it was dangerous to allow uncontrolled crowds to gather on it.
A £2.6 million repair project saw a complete restoration and enhancement of the Grade II* listed structure. As part of the project, the war memorial was turned to face City Hall which freed up a space in the gardens. In response to requests from English Heritage and local interest groups, the city council commissioned a new sculpture.
A group including veterans and the Peace Council selected award-winning sculptor Paul de Monchaux, whose work includes the Wilfred Owen memorial, the BBC Churchill memorial, and the memorial to Second World War slave workers in Jersey, to create Breath - a beautiful and thought-provoking bronze companion piece to the war memorial.
Money for the restoration came from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), the government's national housing and regeneration body, as part of a strategic agreement signed by the city council and the HCA in September 2009 following several months of negotiation. Under the partnership, the HCA has invested £8 million into Norwich.
This complex project has seen the city council working with English Heritage to ensure every stone of the memorial and gardens is painstakingly put back exactly as it was before, preserving this important building for future generations without alteration.
Background
The Memorial Gardens were built in 1938 and were part of the City Hall scheme, designed by CH James and SR Pierce. Like City Hall, they are a Grade II listed structure.
The gardens occupy a terrace linking the Guildhall with St Peter Mancroft and creating a formal setting for City Hall. They were designed as an oasis of peace looking out over the market place at the heart of the city centre and were originally enclosed with walls and gates.
They were created as a setting for the war memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. This was relocated from the lower end of the Guildhall, where it was originally unveiled in 1928.
The layout of the gardens includes raised planting areas, custom-built seats, lighting and flagpoles with sculpted bronze bases depicting peace and plenty. The gardens and the memorial are a focal point for civic and remembrance services and a unique and popular gathering place in the city centre.
If you would like to know more about the project or talk about any concerns you have, please contact project manager Gary Thompson, by writing to:
Asset and City Management
St Giles House
27 St Giles Street
Norwich
NR2 1NH
or calling 01603 213464, faxing 01603 213546 or emailing
garythompson@norwich.gov.uk