Gravesend War Memorial
Windmill Hill Gardens, Clarence Place, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1HH
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1432908
- Date first listed:
- 10-Nov-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Gravesend War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Windmill Hill Gardens, Clarence Place, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1HH
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1432908
- Date first listed:
- 10-Nov-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Gravesend War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Windmill Hill Gardens, Clarence Place, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1HH
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.
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.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Windmill Hill Gardens, Clarence Place, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1HH
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Kent
- District:
- Gravesham (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ6497273470
Summary
First World War memorial in Windmill Hill Gardens. Unveiled in 1922, with later additions for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Gravesend War Memorial, unveiled in 1922, 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: a well-executed stone memorial surmounted by a fine bronze statue of a winged Victory;
* Historic Association: with another well-executed and listed First World War memorial in nearby Northfleet, also by sculptor Francis W Doyle Jones (Bevan's War Memorial NHLE 1391662).
History
The memorial was unveiled by General Lord Horne in a ceremony on 11 January 1922 which was also attended by the Bishop of Rochester. The sculptor was Francis W Doyle Jones who was responsible for numerous other war memorials including nearby memorials in Gillingham and Northfleet. Doyle Jones' impressive Northfleet Art Deco war memorial being for the employees of the Bevan's Cement Works who lost their lives in the First World War.
The Gravesend memorial was damaged in the bombings of the town in 1940 and was then placed in storage. The memorial was restored and re-erected in circa 1949. An inscription was added to commemorate those who lost their lives or were missing in action in the Second World War.
Details
The memorial stands within the Windmill Hill Conservation Area in Windmill Hill Gardens in the centre of a landscaped circular garden. Paths lead to all four faces, with four steps leading up to the front and three steps leading away from the back. The memorial consists of a bronze statue of a winged Victory holding out a laurel wreath in her right hand, standing on a tall square granite plinth standing on a larger square granite plinth, standing on a square two-stepped base.
The top of the plinth on the front face has a carving of a wreath with a torch in the centre. Beneath this is the inscription ERECTED/ IN PROFOUND AND GRATEFUL/ REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN/ OF GRAVESEND WHO FELL IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919/ NOT ONCE OR TWICE IN OUR ROUGH ISLAND STORY/ THE PATH OF DUTY WAS THE WAY TO GLORY. Beneath this inscription are two columns of names and beneath this, on the lower plinth, is the inscription IN GRATEFUL AND ENDURING/ 1939- REMEMBRANCE- 1945/ OF ALL THOSE MEMBERS OF THE ARMED/ FORCES AND CIVILIANS OF THIS BOROUGH/ WHO FELL IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR. Beneath this is the inscription HIS with a cross through the centre of the H.
Each of the other three faces has two columns of names inscribed on the plinth. On the back face, above the names is a carving of the town coat of arms with the inscription DECUS ET TUTAMEN.
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, 4 October 2017.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 30/11/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/144751
War Memorials Register, accessed 4 October 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/16427
Discover Gravesham, accessed 11/10/2016 from http://www.discovergravesham.co.uk/gravesend/windmill-hill.html
Traces of War, accessed 11/10/2016 from http://en.tracesofwar.com/article/19800/War-Memorial-Gravesend.html
Gravesend Borough Band, accessed 11/10/2016 from http://www.gravesendband.co.uk/photo.html?src=arms_war_memorial&alt=Town%20Arms%20-%20War%20Memorial
Parks and Gardens, accessed 11/10/2016 from http://www.parksandgardens.org/places-and-people/site/3533?preview=1
Windmill Hill Conservation Area Appraisal, accessed 11/10/2016 from http://selfservice.gravesham.gov.uk:8081/WebDocs/Environment%20and%20Planning/Conservation_Areas/Windmill_Hill_Appraisal.pdf?_ga=1.241076928.2102366330.1476177513
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 13-Jun-2026 at 12:43:29.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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