Galashiels War Memorial

1924-27; officially unveiled 4 October 1925 · Cornmill Square, adjoining the Burgh Chambers · Category B listed as part of LB31977

Galashiels War Memorial is an exceptionally ambitious civic memorial: a tower, clock, bells, sculpture and inscribed record of loss brought together at the heart of the town by architect Sir Robert Lorimer and Galashiels-born artists and craftspeople.

Last reviewed: 22 July 2026

Galashiels War Memorial tower and bronze mounted Border Reiver statue at Cornmill Square — The war memorial tower and mounted Border Reiver at Cornmill Square. Photograph: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Quick Facts

Date / main phases	Designed and built as part of the 1924-27 Burgh Chambers extension; officially unveiled 4 October 1925; later Second World War panels; commemorative torch added in 2020
Location	Cornmill Square, at the north-west end of the Burgh Chambers
Building or site type	Composite civic war memorial incorporating a tower, clock, bells, sculpture and inscribed panels
Designation	Included in the Category B listing for the Burgh Chambers, clock tower, war memorials, balustrading and steps, LB31977
Architect and artists	Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer; mounted Border Reiver by Thomas J. Clapperton; figure of Peace by David Sutherland
Commemoration	First and Second World Wars; the modern Book of Commemoration records 639 names on the First World War panel
Public access	The exterior and memorial panels can be viewed from public space; visitors should not obstruct the road or building entrances

Why It Matters

The memorial does more than place names on a monument. Lorimer made remembrance part of Galashiels’ civic architecture and everyday townscape. The keep-like tower, local stonework, clock, bells, carved figure and mounted Border Reiver form a composition particular to Galashiels rather than a standard memorial design that could have stood in any town.

The Story

The First World War brought loss on a profound scale to Galashiels. Plans to enlarge the existing municipal buildings had been discussed before 1914, but the war changed the purpose and emotional weight of the eventual project. When work resumed, the new accommodation for the burgh was combined with a memorial intended to occupy one of the most prominent positions in the town centre.

Historic Environment Scotland dates Robert Lorimer’s extensive additions to 1924-27. They enlarged the Burgh Chambers and created the square, corbelled tower facing Cornmill Square. Lorimer did not treat the memorial as an object placed beside an unrelated public building. The tower itself carries the clock and bells, shelters the principal memorial panel and provides the architectural backdrop to the sculpture in front.

The tower evokes a Border keep without copying a single medieval building. Its substantial masonry, narrow openings, corbelled upper stage and steep pyramidal roof give the composition a defensive character, while the illuminated clock and chimes made it part of the town’s daily rhythm. Historic Environment Scotland identifies the clock as the work of W. Potts and Sons of Leeds.

At the base of the tower, a recessed arch contains the large bronze First World War panel. Above it is David Sutherland’s carved figure of Peace. The figure moderates the martial imagery of the tower and horseman: remembrance is expressed through grief and hoped-for peace as well as local strength. Sutherland belonged to a Galashiels family of stonemasons and sculptors, giving this nationally ambitious work a strong connection with the town’s own craft tradition.

The modern Galashiels Book of Commemoration records 639 men named on the First World War panel. Its researchers had identified 609 of them when the 2021 edition was prepared and continued to treat the work as an evolving record. The names include men who served in forces associated with six countries. This breadth reflects migration, family connections and the international reach of a textile town whose people had travelled far beyond the Borders.

In front of the tower stands Thomas J. Clapperton’s bronze mounted Border Reiver. Clapperton was born in Galashiels and developed a wider career as a sculptor. Choosing a historic Border horseman instead of a modern soldier gave the memorial a distinctive local emblem. The rider is not the whole memorial, however: it is best understood as one element in Lorimer’s larger relationship between sculpture, architecture and civic space.

The memorial was officially unveiled by Field Marshal Earl Haig on Sunday 4 October 1925. The wider Burgh Chambers work continued into 1927. The Imperial War Museums register records that the bell cluster was presented in 1928 by the Cochrane family, prominent local manufacturers who had lost two sons in the war. The bells strengthened the memorial’s presence beyond the square: remembrance could be heard across the town as well as seen.

After the Second World War, two further bronze panels were placed to either side of the central arch. The Gala Remembers project subsequently researched 117 men and one woman who died in that conflict. These later additions show that the site has continued to accumulate meaning rather than remaining fixed at its 1925 form.

A further layer was added in 2020. A commemorative Border Torch, based on an idea advanced by councillor George Hope Tait in the 1920s but not completed at the time, was installed on the building and unveiled on 4 October, ninety-five years after the main memorial. Its addition demonstrates how carefully researched historic proposals can inform new commemorative work without disguising it as original fabric.

The setting is fundamental. The memorial terminates the view along Bank Street and stands above the Cornmill Fountain, the mill lade and the monuments of Cornmill Square. HES notes that this was an area used for outdoor civic gatherings. Remembrance, local government, industry, public art and ceremony are therefore compressed into a small but unusually expressive part of Galashiels.

Things to Notice

The way the tower is integrated into the Burgh Chambers rather than standing as a separate monument
The corbelled upper stage, pyramidal roof, clock faces and narrow openings that suggest a Border keep
David Sutherland’s figure of Peace above the main First World War panel
The two later Second World War panels flanking the central arch
Thomas Clapperton’s treatment of the horse, rider and equipment in the freestanding bronze
The changing view of the composition when approached from Bank Street, Cornmill Square and Albert Place
The relationship with the fountain and the route of the former mill lade below
The commemorative torch added in 2020 as a visibly later element in the continuing story of the site

Why It Matters Today

The memorial gives individual names a permanent place in the centre of civic life. It also embodies a remarkable collaboration between a leading Scottish architect and artists, craftspeople, manufacturers and public figures connected with Galashiels. Its meaning survives not only in stone and bronze but in research, annual remembrance and the continued act of reading the names.

Significance Scores

Criterion	Score	Reason
Architectural interest	5 / 5	A powerful, integrated composition by Sir Robert Lorimer combining architecture, sculpture, clock and bells.
Historical importance	5 / 5	It records the impact of the world wars on Galashiels and the town’s interwar civic response.
Social significance	5 / 5	The memorial remains a focus for collective remembrance, family history and civic ceremony.
Rarity	5 / 5	Its keep-like tower and mounted Border Reiver create an unusually place-specific form of war memorial.
Townscape contribution	5 / 5	The tower anchors Cornmill Square, terminates Bank Street and forms one of the town centre’s defining silhouettes.

Scores follow the published significance-scoring methodology. They are interpretive judgements, not statutory designations.

Timeline

Before 1914 – proposals to enlarge the municipal buildings are discussed
1924-27 – Sir Robert Lorimer’s extensions create the clock tower, memorial and enlarged Burgh Chambers
4 October 1925 – the war memorial is officially unveiled by Field Marshal Earl Haig
1927 – the wider Burgh Chambers extension is completed
1928 – the bell cluster is presented by the Cochrane family, according to the Imperial War Museums register
After 1945 – two Second World War panels are added beside the First World War panel
2018-21 – the Gala Remembers project develops and expands its Book of Commemoration
4 October 2020 – the Border Torch, derived from an uncompleted 1920s proposal, is unveiled

Notes and Uncertainties

Historic Environment Scotland securely attributes the 1924-27 work to R. S. Lorimer and identifies the principal architectural and sculptural elements. Galashiels Heartland and the Gala Remembers material give 4 October 1925 as the official unveiling date; the Old Gala Club timeline currently gives 3 October, while the Imperial War Museums register gives October 1924. The 4 October 1925 date is used here because it is supported by the detailed local account, but the disagreement is recorded rather than concealed. The modern Book of Commemoration states that 639 men are named on the First World War panel. That figure should not automatically be equated with a narrowly defined total of Galashiels residents killed: memorial inclusion could reflect birth, residence, work, family or other local associations, and the research project itself notes unresolved identities. The IWM total of 118 appears to concern the Second World War panels rather than the whole composite memorial. Current custodial and access arrangements may change.

Image and Licence Notes

Ad Meskens made the photograph on 3 June 2014 and released it under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported licence. It is reused from the Wikimedia Commons file page, which identifies the photographer, licence and original file. The image has been uploaded to this website for stable presentation; the caption links back to the Commons record and licence. No image from HES, the Town Trail or the Imperial War Museums register has been copied.