Falkland Memorial
Falkland Memorial
In 1878 the first monument to commemorate the First Battle of Newbury was erected at Wash Common, a short distance from where Lord Falkland fell.
The memorial and its site were suggested by Walter Money, F.S.A, a local antiquary, and the monument itself was crafted and erected by Messers W and T.R. Freeman of Westminster. The obelisk, sculpted from Cornish grey granite, has inscriptions on all four sides, the chief of which is:
“In memory of those who, on the twentieth September 1643, fell fighting in the army of King Charles the First on the field of Newbury, and especially of Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, who died here, in the 32nd year of his age, this monument is set up by those to whom the majesty of the Crown and liberty of their country are dear.”
On the day of unveiling a procession, headed by the band of the 49th Regiment, and followed by the Mayor and corporation, Yeomanry, Volunteers, Oddfellows, Foresters and Freemasons marched through the town to the memorial site. Once there the ceremony of unveiling was performed by the Earl of Carnarvon, amidst enthusiastic cheers, with the words:
“Mr Mayor, Mr High Sheriff, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to congratulate you, first of all, on the completion of the work on which we have been so long engaged, next upon the beauty of the day which smiles upon our proceedings; and, thirdly, upon the great concourse of people gathered around us this afternoon. I trust, as the mayor has said, that this may be an ornament to this place and town, and handed down to our children’s children. The legal trust is vested in me and another gentleman; but we look to you to watch over it, to guard it, to preserve it. On this field, as the Mayor has truly said, the battle of Newbury was once fought, and Lord Falkland fell. And why do we now erect this monument? We erect it not to perpetuate the memory of bygone feuds - we erect it not to exalt any one party or set of opinions - but in order to commemorate great events in which we are all interested, and to do honour to the memory of a man of singular purity, unselfishness, and honour. Lord Falkland was a gentleman, a scholar, a statesman, a reformer of political abuses, and yet a lover of the Crown. Living in troubled and painful times, he reconciled, as far as was given man to reconcile, the complicated duties of his age, and, dying, he died without fear and without reproach. It only remains for me now to unveil this memorial, and make it public” (Prolonged cheers).
The memorial and its site were suggested by Walter Money, F.S.A, a local antiquary, and the monument itself was crafted and erected by Messers W and T.R. Freeman of Westminster. The obelisk, sculpted from Cornish grey granite, has inscriptions on all four sides, the chief of which is:
“In memory of those who, on the twentieth September 1643, fell fighting in the army of King Charles the First on the field of Newbury, and especially of Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland, who died here, in the 32nd year of his age, this monument is set up by those to whom the majesty of the Crown and liberty of their country are dear.”
On the day of unveiling a procession, headed by the band of the 49th Regiment, and followed by the Mayor and corporation, Yeomanry, Volunteers, Oddfellows, Foresters and Freemasons marched through the town to the memorial site. Once there the ceremony of unveiling was performed by the Earl of Carnarvon, amidst enthusiastic cheers, with the words:
“Mr Mayor, Mr High Sheriff, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have to congratulate you, first of all, on the completion of the work on which we have been so long engaged, next upon the beauty of the day which smiles upon our proceedings; and, thirdly, upon the great concourse of people gathered around us this afternoon. I trust, as the mayor has said, that this may be an ornament to this place and town, and handed down to our children’s children. The legal trust is vested in me and another gentleman; but we look to you to watch over it, to guard it, to preserve it. On this field, as the Mayor has truly said, the battle of Newbury was once fought, and Lord Falkland fell. And why do we now erect this monument? We erect it not to perpetuate the memory of bygone feuds - we erect it not to exalt any one party or set of opinions - but in order to commemorate great events in which we are all interested, and to do honour to the memory of a man of singular purity, unselfishness, and honour. Lord Falkland was a gentleman, a scholar, a statesman, a reformer of political abuses, and yet a lover of the Crown. Living in troubled and painful times, he reconciled, as far as was given man to reconcile, the complicated duties of his age, and, dying, he died without fear and without reproach. It only remains for me now to unveil this memorial, and make it public” (Prolonged cheers).
© The Newbury Battlefield Project 2009