War Memorial Railings installed on Yarm High Street

Stockton-Upon-Tees Borough Council has recently invested £500,000 to enhance the High Street at Yarm, Stockton Upon Tees. The aim was to further enhance the Town Hall and war memorial area and maintain its role as a focal point at the heart of the High Street.

The scheme also included new heritage style street lighting, car parking and bus facility improvements, as well as new natural stone paving, cobbles setts, seating and feature lighting.

Alpha Rail was commissioned to fabricate and install the bespoke war memorial railings.

The war memorial design and its chosen palette of materials was developed in close consultation with the local authority’s Historic Buildings officer, English Heritage and local disability advisory groups. This ensured that the design respected the listed building and the high street’s conservation area setting.

Named ‘Field of Poppies’, the war memorial railings design reflected the memorial nature of the monument using standard vertical metal railings and curved bar sections that were painted black. Churchill finials and round poppy details on the centre of each railing added a subtle finishing touch. Alpha Rail was also asked to incorporate a removable panel so that the memorial could be accessed to lay wreaths during remembrance services.