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 immediately to the W of the S aisle of the Church of St Peter, adjacent to Church Lane and the High Street. It is situated opposite the Grade II*-listed medieval church and adjacent to several C16 houses, which are Grade II* and Grade II-listed.

The memorial comprises a Greek cross set at the head of a tapering octagonal shaft with a moulded base. It rises from a moulded octagonal plinth on a three-tier stepped octagonal base. On the top tier of the base is an inscription in incised lettering TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD/ 1914-18/ NAMES. Inscribed into eight stone panels are 182 names of those that died during the First World War. The plinth is inscribed 1939-1945/ NAMES with four stone panels bearing 94 names of the Fallen of the Second World War.

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 at Berkhamsted 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.

The names of the Fallen of the Second World War were added after 1945. In circa 1952 the memorial was moved to its current site next to the W door and S aisle of the Church of St Peter. There was originally a Celtic cross on top of the shaft but it was replaced by a Greek cross in the later C20. The memorial was restored in 2002.

Reasons for Listing

Berkhamsted War Memorial 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: as an elegant memorial comprising a Greek cross set upon a tapering shaft, moulded plinth and stepped base;
* Group value: with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Peter and adjacent Grade II* and Grade II-listed C16 houses on Church Lane and the High Street, as well as a war memorial inside the Church of St Peter.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66477821

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)