We don't have any photos of this building yet. Why don't you be the first to send us one?
Latitude: 52.1765 / 52°10'35"N
Longitude: -2.7733 / 2°46'24"W
OS Eastings: 347213
OS Northings: 253421
OS Grid: SO472534
Mapcode National: GBR FH.54NY
Mapcode Global: VH77L.WK6B
Plus Code: 9C4V56GG+JM
Entry Name: Upper Hill War Memorial
Listing Date: 1 November 2016
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1439042
ID on this website: 101439042
Location: Upper Hill, County of Herefordshire, HR6
County: County of Herefordshire
Civil Parish: Birley with Upper Hill
Traditional County: Herefordshire
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Herefordshire
Church of England Parish: Hope-under-Dinmore
Church of England Diocese: Hereford
Tagged with: War memorial
First World War memorial by William G Storr Barber, with a further name added after the Second World War.
MATERIALS: sandstone.
DESCRIPTION: Upper Hill War Memorial consists of a wheel-head cross on a tapered shaft decorated with an incised Sword of Sacrifice on the front face.
The shaft is set upon a two-tiered plinth and a single-step base. The front of the plinth has two recessed panels, one on each tier. The upper tier carries the inscription which reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ THE GIVER OF VICTORY AND/ TO THE UNDYING MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF UPPER HILL/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919. The lower tier is incised with the names of the fallen followed by the inscription BY THEIR DEATH WE LIVE.
The left face of the lower tier bears a name from 1920 whilst the right face carries the details of a fallen submariner from the Second World War.
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, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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 Upper Hill as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
William G Storr Barber (active 1908 - 1920s) was the sculptor of the memorial. He was a monumental mason and sculptor originally based in Leominster where he carved a statue of St Ethelbert (1908) for the Catholic Church in the town as well as restoring the Old Town Hall (1909). He seems to have moved to the capital sometime between then and the early 1920s, for his statue for Leominster’s war memorial (1922) was modelled in his London studio. He was responsible for a number of memorials in the Hereford and Worcester area including Dilwyn and Kimbolton.
Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate the one fallen of that conflict.
In 2015 the memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from the War Memorials Trust.
Upper Hill War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an ornate and striking sandstone cross with carved decorative details;
* Designer: William G Storr Barber known for his carved statue of St Ethelbert in Leominster church as well as his remodelling of Leominster’s Old Town Hall.
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.
Other nearby listed buildings
