Portstewart War Memorial

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Life-size life-like bronze statue with rifle on stone plinth, erected 1924, by Louis Frederick Roslyn. Located on the promenade of Portstewart honouring the veterans of WWI and WWII.

Bronze figure in army uniform yielding a rifle supported on a large tapered limestone plinth on three steps with moulded cornice and plinth framing commemorative bronze and stone plaques to north, east and south elevations. Polished stone plaques to the north and south faces have are inscribed with a list of names of the fallen.

The front polished plaque states;
‘To the glory of God and in grateful remembrance of the men of Porstewart who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918 Their name liveth for evermore’. Below are two bronze plaques, the lower one listing the names of the fallen and the upper one stating;
‘This plaque commemorates the following who gave their lives in the world war 1939-1945’.

To the north face is a recent added plaque;
‘Dedicated to the men of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division UNITED STATES ARMY Stationed in “CAMP CROMORE” 9th January-11th March 1944 World War II Campaigns NORMANDY HOLLAND BELGIUM’.

Setting

Located on the Promenade of Portstewart overlooking the sea.

Roof None
RWG None
Walling None
Windows None

Historical information

Portstewart War Memorial, located along the town's promenade, was constructed in the early-1920s and unveiled in 1924. The memorial consists of a bronze statue of a British soldier on top of a limestone plinth and commemorates those individuals from Portstewart who fell during both the First and Second World Wars. The bronze statue was designed by Louis Frederick Roslyn of London; Roslyn (1878-1934) was an English sculptor who is best known for the war memorials he designed throughout the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the First Wold War. The statue of the British Soldier cast at Portstewart is the only work that Roslyn carried out in Northern Ireland. The builder contracted to undertake Roslyn’s design was John Robinson & Son, ‘granite, marble and stone merchants’ who operated from offices on York Street, Belfast, and were also responsible for the erection of the war memorial in Aghadowey.

Portstewart War Memorial was completed in 1924 and was unveiled by Lady Cecil Craig (the wife of Northern Ireland’s first Prime Minister James Craig) on 11th November as part of the local remembrance ceremony and was dedicated by the Dean of Derry. The memorial was erected by Coleraine Borough Council and cost approximately £800 raised through public donations. When originally completed the memorial commemorated 30 local men who died during the First World War; the names of the men were recorded below an inscription which read: ‘To the / glory of God / and in / grateful remembrance / of the men of Portstewart / who gave their lives / in the / Great War / 1914-1918 / Their name liveth / for evermore.’

In the aftermath of the Second World War the names of an additional 13 men were added to the memorial with a second inscription which read: ‘This plaque commemorates the / following who gave their lives / in the world war 1939-1945 / (names) / we will remember them.’ The memorial also commemorates the American 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airbourne Division who were stationed at Camp Cromore, Portstewart prior to the Normandy Invasion of 1944.

References

Primary Sources

1. PRONI OS/6/5/3/4 – Fourth Edition Ordnance Survey Map 1922-32
2. Ordnance Survey Map – 5-16 SW (1979)

Secondary Sources

1. Girvan, W. D., ‘Historic Buildings in Coleraine and Portstewart’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1972.
2. Rowan, A., ‘The buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ Yale: Yale University Press, 1979.

Online Resources

1. War Memorials Archive website –
http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.6181/fromUkniwmSearch/1

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
R. Age
S. Authenticity
T. Historic Importance

Evaluation

Portstewart war memorial, erected in 1924, comprising a full sized bronze statue of a soldier on a stone plinth with memorial plaques, created by the renowned sculptor Louis Frederick Roslyn of London. Roslyn (1878-1934) was an English sculptor who is best known for the war memorials he designed throughout the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the First Wold War. The statue of the British Soldier cast at Portstewart is the only work that Roslyn carried out in Northern Ireland. Aside from the artistic merits of this monument it is a rare example of a war memorial that commemorates American forces (508th Parachute Infantry Regiment) as well as those who died from the local community. It sits in a prominent position on Portstewart sea front.

General comments

Listing Criteria R - Age; S - Authenticity and T - Historic Importance also apply.