Bourne College War Memorial

Hugh Bourne founded Bourne College in 1882 on a 19-acre site at Spies Lane, Quinton, for the sons of primitive Methodists. Entry was later opened to boys of other denominations. In 1921, a marble plaque commemorating 30 college boys who died in the First World War was erected by public subscription. The college closed in 1928, was renamed Quinton Hall and took on a new role as a home for elderly men. The memorial was moved to the Methodist Chapel in College Road. Both the Chapel and Quinton Hall were eventually demolished. All that now remains of the College are two landmark pine trees, which still stand on the Chantry Estate. The memorial disappeared when the chapel was demolished to make way for the new M5 motorway in 1967.

In 2001, Quinton Local History Society, under its chairman, Bernard Taylor, began a successful public campaign to reinstate a memorial to the boys who gave their lives. The new memorial, in oak, was commissioned from Paul Baker, a local craftsman. It was installed at The Quinborne Centre, and unveiled by Dr. Carl Chinn, MBE, on 30th June 2001.