Summary
First World War Memorial, 1920, with additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Horndean 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 and C21;
* Group value: with the Grade II-listed Red Lion Inn.
History
Horndean War Memorial, paid for by public subscription, was executed by Messrs G Maile and Son Ltd. A small green in the road junction was transformed into a garden enclosed by railings and a hedge, with the memorial at its centre. The memorial was unveiled by Lady Drury-Lowe and dedicated by Reverend John Nelson on 21 July 1920, following a speech by Rear Admiral C Bayly. Commemorating 74 local servicemen who died during the First World War, it comprised a stone statue of Nike raised on a column.
Following the Second World War, inscriptions honouring those who fell in that conflict were added. At some point the railings were removed and the garden remodelled. The statue of Nike was removed in December 1964, having been damaged when a vehicle hit the memorial. The figure was replaced by a sculpture of the Toc H lamp. In 1999 and 2006 further inscriptions were added. Conservation and repair work was carried out in 2009, funded by War Memorials Trust.
In early 2014 Horndean Parish Council launched a public appeal to replace the Toc H lamp with a new figure of Nike. Jose Sarabia of Messrs J Rotherham of Yorkshire scuplted the new statue, a close copy of the original based on archive photographs. The memorial was re-dedicated on 20 July 2014, marking the centenary of the start of the First World War, at a ceremony lead by the Archdeacon of Portsdown and addressed by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Dame Mary Fagan.
Details
Horndean War Memorial stands in a small garden in Horndean Square, in front of the Grade II-listed Red Lion Inn. The memorial, of Portland stone, consists of a statue of Nike (the Greek goddess personifying victory) surmounting the outsailing cornice of a tall, square, column. That rises from a tapering, square, plinth that stands on a three-stepped, square, base. Nike is crowned and does not have wings; her left arm is raised and in her right hand she carries an inverted sword.
The front face of the column bears the principal dedication, ERECTED/ BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION/ TO THE MEMORY OF THE/ MEN WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED/ WHO WENT FROM THIS COUNTRY-SIDE/ AT THE CALL OF DUTY/ AND LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1919/ “IN THE EVENING AND IN THE MORNING/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.” The names of those who fell in the First World War are listed on the other faces of the column.
The front face of the plinth also bears an inscription, reading ALSO/ TO THOSE WHO FELL/ IN THE WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ AND IN ALL CONFLICTS. The names of the men who fell in the Second World War are listed on the sides of the plinth. In addition, an inscription at the plinth base reads CONFLICTS SINCE 1945, followed by the name of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The garden is demarcated from the pavement by low metal bollards and modern brick paving provides access to the memorial. These are not of special interest.
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, 6 December 2016.
