Description

HERTFORD

TL3212NE PARLIAMENT SQUARE
817-1/17/163 Hertford War Memorial including
raised elliptical surround

II

War Memorial and raised surround. 1920-21. Architect Sir Aston
Webb, Sculptor Alfred Drury. Portland stone with bronze
sculpture. Truncated obelisk form, set on base with raised
curb surround, and inclined slabs, inscribed with the names of
the dead.
Plinth, recessed course and band, projecting quadrant band,
and pulvinated frieze carved with bay leaves and tassels, set
between bands with cavetto moulding. The long east and west
sides have carved Roman capital inscriptions 'Laus Deo', 'To
the Men of Hertford who gave their lives in the Great War
1914-1919' with 'And in the Second World War 1939-1945' added
beneath. Near the top of the east and west sides are carved
laurel wreaths surmounted by crowns, with inset dates '1914'
and '1919'. At the top, a set back band which forms a plinth
for the life-size sculpture of a hart, which faces north.
The Memorial is in the centre of Parliament Square, and is set
on a raised elliptical Portland stone surround, with four sets
of steps, flanked by battered-profile piers, each with a
recessed top and ball finials. Raised tablets inscribed with
the names of the dead of the Second World War are set in front
of the 2 principal faces of the Memorial.
HISTORICAL NOTE: Parliament Square was created after the First
World War by clearance of shops and cottages which occupied
the centre. The site was given by Sir Edward and Lady Pearson.
The stone came from the same quarry as for The Cenotaph,
Whitehall, and the contractor was Andrews of Hertford. The
Memorial was unveiled by the Mayor of Hertford, Alderman J
Burnett-Smith, on 6 November 1921.
(The Buildings of England: Pevsner N: Hertfordshire:
Harmondsworth: 1977-: 189; Mrs Head, letter, 26/08/62;
Hertfordshire Countryside: Letchworth: 1960-: 160).

Listing NGR: TL3260012536

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 12 January 2017.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26559085

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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