Spalding War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The proposal for a memorial to Spalding's war dead originated in January 1918 with Barbara McLaren, whose husband and the town's Member of Parliament, Francis McLaren, was killed in a flying accident during the war. She engaged Lutyens via a family connection and the architect produced a plan for a grand memorial cloister surrounding a circular pond, in the middle of which would be a cross. The memorial was to be built in the formal gardens of Ayscoughfee Hall, which was owned by the local district council. When McLaren approached the council with her proposal, it generated considerable debate within the community and several alternative schemes were suggested. After a public meeting and a vote in 1919, a reduced-scale version of McLaren's proposal emerged as the preferred option, in conjunction with a clock on the town's corn exchange building.
Spalding War Memorial
Lutyens's original proposal
The 1922 clock and carillon, now housed in a glass tower attached to the South Holland Centre
The memorial viewed from the side of the reflecting pool
Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour.
Illuminated Ayscoughfee Hall
Ayscoughfee Hall (detail).
Ayscoughfee Hall Gardens.
Ayscoughfee Hall Gardens; the building at the head of the pool is Spalding War Memorial.