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War memorial at St Michael and All Angels Church, Berkhamsted

A Grade II Listed Building in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 51.759 / 51°45'32"N

Longitude: -0.5499 / 0°32'59"W

OS Eastings: 500178

OS Northings: 207691

OS Grid: TL001076

Mapcode National: GBR F55.RRK

Mapcode Global: VHFS4.F14X

Plus Code: 9C3XQF52+H2

Entry Name: War memorial at St Michael and All Angels Church, Berkhamsted

Listing Date: 1 November 2016

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1437020

ID on this website: 101437020

Location: St Michael's Church, Dacorum, Hertfordshire, HP4

County: Hertfordshire

District: Dacorum

Civil Parish: Berkhamsted

Built-Up Area: Berkhamsted

Traditional County: Hertfordshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Hertfordshire

Church of England Parish: Sunnyside St Michael and All Angels

Church of England Diocese: St.Albans

Tagged with: War memorial

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Summary


First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War. Erected circa 1920, with the names of the fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

Description


First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War. Erected circa 1920, with the names of the fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

MATERIALS: carved from stone.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church. It is S of the chancel of the Grade II-listed church. The memorial comprises a budded cross set upon a capital at the head of a tapering shaft. It rises from a moulded square plinth on a three-tier stepped base. On the plinth is a weathered inscription, which is recorded as 1914-1919/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY.

A further inscription commemorates the fallen of the Second World War which reads GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS,/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS. John 15:13/ 1938 - 1945.

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, 23 November 2017.

History


The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church (now known as 'Sunnyside Church') in circa 1920, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. After the Second World War the names of 13 residents who died during that conflict were added to the plinth.

Reasons for Listing


The war memorial at St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church, Berkhamsted, of circa 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a war memorial that has strong cultural and historic significance within both a local and national context;
* Commemorative: it forms a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made during the First and Second World Wars;
* Design: an elegant budded cross set upon a tapering shaft, moulded plinth and stepped base;
* Group value: with the Grade II-listed St Michael and All Angels (Sunnyside) Church.

External Links

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