The Arch of Remembrance is a First World War memorial designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and located in Victoria Park, Leicester, in the East Midlands of England. Leicester's industry contributed significantly to the British war effort. A temporary war memorial was erected in 1917, and a committee was formed in 1919 to propose a permanent memorial. The committee resolved to appoint Lutyens as architect and to site the memorial in Victoria Park. Lutyens's first proposal was accepted by the committee but was scaled back and eventually cancelled due to a shortage of funds. The committee then asked Lutyens to design a memorial arch, which he presented to a public meeting in 1923.
Arch of Remembrance
Sir Edwin Lutyens, the architect engaged for Leicester's war memorial
View through the smaller arches showing the cross section of the arches; the surrounding railings and pillars are visible through the arches.
View of the top of the arch showing the flags, wreaths (on the sides), vaulted ceiling, and the dome at the summit
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials and public buildings. In his biography, the writer Christopher Hussey wrote, "In his lifetime (Lutyens) was widely held to be our greatest architect since Wren if not, as many maintained, his superior". The architectural historian Gavin Stamp described him as "surely the greatest British architect of the twentieth century".
Lutyens in 1921
Ground floor plan of Munstead Wood
Ground floor plan of Orchards
The Cenotaph, Whitehall, London