The Second Boer War Memorial lies in the city centre of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, in England. The

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

lies on

Duncombe Place Duncombe Place is a street in the city centre of York, in England. History The street was first mentioned in 1346 as Lop Lane, and it later became known as Little Blake Street. Initially a very narrow street, the eastern entrance to St Leonard ...

, near

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

. It commemorates the soldiers from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

who died in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, between 1899 and 1902. In total, there are 1,459 names on the memorial. It was designed by

G. F. Bodley George Frederick Bodley (14 March 182721 October 1907) was an English Gothic Revival architect. He was a pupil of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and worked in partnership with Thomas Garner for much of his career. He was one of the founders of Wat ...

and constructed by Robert Bridgeman & Sons. The memorial is in the

Perpendicular Gothic Perpendicular Gothic (also Perpendicular, Rectilinear, or Third Pointed) architecture was the third and final style of English Gothic architecture developed in the Kingdom of England during the Late Middle Ages, typified by large windows, four-c ...

style and is built of Ketton stone. It stands on an octagonal stepped base, and its upright is also octagonal, with

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es and topped with

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s. Its top is in a lantern form, and atop that is a cross and small shield. The front has eight niches, holding a statue representing different forces: a sailor, cavalryman, artilleryman, infantryman, imperial yeoman, militiaman, volunteer and nurse. The initial statue of a sailor showed him holding a Lee-Enfield Magazine Rifle Mark I, which was rejected as overly aggressive, and instead installed at the library in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west of B ...

. The memorial was unveiled on 3 August 1905, in the presence of

Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, (30 September 1832 – 14 November 1914) was a British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Iri ...

. In 1961, the memorial was struck by lightning.{{cite book , last1=Chrystal , first1=Paul , title=York in the 1960s , date=2015 , publisher=Amberley Publishing , isbn=9781445640969 In 1968, it was

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

References

1905 sculptures George Frederick Bodley buildings Gothic Revival architecture in North Yorkshire Grade II* listed buildings in York Monuments and memorials in North Yorkshire Outdoor sculptures in England Second Boer War memorials Stone sculptures in the United Kingdom Duncombe Place

See also

References