Crayford War Memorial in grounds of Crayford Manor

War Memorial, Grounds of Crayford Manor, Mayplace Road East, Dartford, DA1 4HB

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Explore this list entry

Overview

War memorial, unveiled in 1954.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1410311
Date first listed:
13-Nov-2012
List Entry Name:
Crayford War Memorial in grounds of Crayford Manor
Statutory Address:
War Memorial, Grounds of Crayford Manor, Mayplace Road East, Dartford, DA1 4HB
User submitted image
Contributed by Charles Watson This photo may not represent the current condition of the site. Over 400,000 images and stories have been added to the Missing Pieces Project so far. Share your story.
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places. 

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

Icon Buildings
Icon Scheduled monuments
Icon Parks and gardens
Icon Battlefields
Icon Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Local Heritage Hub

Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.

Discover more

Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1410311
Date first listed:
13-Nov-2012
List Entry Name:
Crayford War Memorial in grounds of Crayford Manor
Statutory Address 1:
War Memorial, Grounds of Crayford Manor, Mayplace Road East, Dartford, DA1 4HB

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
War Memorial, Grounds of Crayford Manor, Mayplace Road East, Dartford, DA1 4HB

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Greater London Authority
District:
Bexley (London Borough)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
TQ5099375500

Summary

War memorial, unveiled in 1954.

Reasons for Designation

Crayford War Memorial, unveiled in 1954, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Form and design: this war memorial is not built to a standard design but rather as a memorial garden comprising a brick wall with attached plaques and planters;
* Inscriptions: it bears the inscriptions of the casualties of the two world wars and
unusually includes a number of local civilian casualties;
* Intactness: the memorial is unaltered;
* Rarity and historic interest: memorials erected after the Second World War, such as this one, are rare nationally. This is the only war memorial commemorating the Crayford casualties of both world wars.

History

This War Memorial was unveiled on July 9 1954 to commemorate the war dead of both world wars from the parish of Crayford. According to the 13 January 1954 minutes of Crayford Urban District the structure was built by Messrs S G and A Agombar. The minutes of 10 March 1954 record that the three bronze plaques were provided by Messrs Comyn Ching and Co. Ltd.

Details

DATE: war memorial unveiled on 13 June 1954. Constructed by Messrs S G and A Agombar with the bronze plaques by Messrs Comyn Ching and Co. Ltd. Moderne style.

MATERIALS: constructed of brick in English bond with bronze panels.

DESCRIPTION: comprises a free-standing brick wall divided into five panels, with gabled brick coping. The central panel is taller with ramped up coping with tiles on edge in the corners and on the south-west side has three attached bronze panels.

The central panel has the inscription 'CRAYFORD MEMORIAL GARDEN' with the shield of Kent below. Below this is the inscription:
'THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD,AS WE WHO ARE LEFT GROW OLD:/AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM, NOR THE /YEARS CONDEMN,/ AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN,AND IN THE MORNING/WE WILL REMEMBER THEM./ LAURENCE BINYON/

(Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) is the poet from whose poem "For the Fallen" the inscription is taken.)

The two outer panels have the names of the fallen from both world wars. The left side panel has 142 names of His Majesty's forces who perished in the First World War. Below this are names of His Majesty's forces who perished in the Second World War but this is continued on the right side plaque, 153 names in all. Below on the right hand plaque are the names of 68 Second World War civilian casualties.

Brick planters are attached to the side panels on the south-east side and in front of the centre is a detached low rectangular-shaped brick planter.

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, 9 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/49523
War Memorials Online, accessed 9 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/75700

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Crayford War Memorial in grounds of Crayford Manor

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 16-Jun-2026 at 09:59:47.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Previous Overview
Next Comments and Photos