Summary
First World War memorial taking the form of a pavilion housing a pump supplying a drinking fountain and horse trough. Erected by Sir Bernard Oppenheimer (1866-1921), date and designer not known.
Description
First World War memorial taking the form of a pavilion housing a pump supplying a drinking fountain and horse trough. Erected by Sir Bernard Oppenheimer (1866-1921), date and designer not known.
MATERIALS: stone-coloured faience blocks by Doulton and Co of Lambeth. Clay tile roof and clay tile and stone floor. Granite memorial plaque. Cast-iron pump.
DESCRIPTION: a neo-classical octagonal pavilion with eight Greek Doric columns supporting the entablature. The frieze is decorated with tryglyphs and there is a deep overhanging cornice. Four of the columns are free standing with the other four engaged with low walls occupying the three western sides of the memorial. The higher, westernmost, wall incorporates a rectangular horse trough on the exterior and an arched drinking fountain with a basin on the interior. The clay-tiled roof has a stone ball finial. Inside the pavilion is a (now incomplete) cast-iron flywheel and crank water pump, probably by Joseph Evans of Wolverhampton. This stands on a clay tile and stone slab floor.
A granite plaque on the wall adjoining the horse trough is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF/ STOKE & WEXHAM/ WHO FELL IN THE/ GREAT WAR 1914 -1918./ ERECTED BY SIR BERNARD OPPENHEIMER BART. An additional stone plaque above the trough records the restoration of the memorial by the parish council on the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995.
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 27 February 2018.
History
The memorial, which takes the form of a pavilion housing a pump supplying a drinking fountain and horse trough, was erected by Sir Bernard Oppenheimer (1866-1921), a South African-British diamond merchant and philanthropist who lived at the nearby Sefton Hall. He was created first baronet of Stoke Poges in 1921 in recognition of his contribution to the war effort and work with disabled servicemen. The exact date and designer of the memorial are not currently known. The names of the fallen are recorded on a separate memorial plaque in St Mary's Church, Wexham (Grade II*).
Reasons for Listing
The Stoke and Wexham War Memorial, Wexham Street, Buckinghamshire is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20. It was commissioned by Sir Bernard Oppenheimer who made a significant contribution to the war effort;
Architectural interest:
* as a highly unusual classical design in the form of a pavilion, enclosing a water pump with an integrated horse trough;
* for the unusual use of faience blocks in the construction of a war memorial.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
For the Record
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings