Thompson Dagnall’s Civil War Sculptures, Preston

Thompson Dagnall, the well known and prolific Lancashire sculptor, has produced numerous large carvings in stone and wood throughout the region. He has created three war sculptures representing different eras. His most recent is The Messenger at Astley Park in Chorley, which commemorates the First World War (see here). Two of his older pieces to be found in north Preston are Warhorse to Water at Cottam (see our page here), and at Fulwood are the Brothers in Arms, the subject of this piece.

Brothers in Arms

At the entrance to Ladybank Avenue, facing each other across the road, are two stone men, the Brothers in Arms. This commemorates the Battle of Preston, which was fought on 17th August 1648. On his website Dagnall writes “The realisation that fellow countrymen fought and died in these very fields led me inevitably to a sculpture referring to the English Civil War. “ In the area north of Preston, there were skirmishes between the Royalist soldiers and the Parliamentarian forces before the main battle. This culminated in the main battle that took place between Preston Moor and the town itself, and further south by the banks of the River Ribble near Walton-le-Dale.

Dagnall has deliberately made the two soldiers facial features identical. Their headgear and clothes show their differing sides, one having the wide brim hat of the cavalier, the other the helmet of the Parliamentarian. They peer at each other over barricades, each holding a small cannon. On the plaque Thompson Dagnall states “The inevitable outcome of their cannons’ aims is a shared fate – the results of political and religious intolerance”. The figures are two and a half times life size and are carved from millstone grit from Longsands, Preston. This is in sharp contrast with their headgear which is made of metal. The piece was commissioned by Morris Homes and English Partnerships, and was installed in 2005. Surprisingly, it is the only monument to the Battle of Preston, which was the final decisive battle of the Second Civil War.