Hamsterley War Memorial
Saunders Avenue, Hamsterley, County Durham, DL13 3PP
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1437875
- Date first listed:
- 08-Sept-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Hamsterley War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Saunders Avenue, Hamsterley, County Durham, DL13 3PP
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
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:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
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 moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1437875
- Date first listed:
- 08-Sept-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Hamsterley War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Saunders Avenue, Hamsterley, County Durham, DL13 3PP
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:
- Saunders Avenue, Hamsterley, County Durham, DL13 3PP
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- County Durham (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Hamsterley
- National Grid Reference:
- NZ1202631001
Summary
First World War memorial, 1921, with additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Hamsterley War Memorial, which stands on the green, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20 and C21;
* Architectural interest: a tall and elegant memorial cross.
History
Hamsterley War Memorial was unveiled by Colonel Thomas Dowling and dedicated by Reverend John Holliday, during an ecumenical ceremony held on 21 May 1921. The site for the memorial, and possibly the finance to pay for the cross, had been donated by Mr WR Richardson of Hollin Hill Farm. The memorial was made by JG Brown, monumental mason of Wolsingham. It commemorates eight servicemen who died in the First World War. Following the Second World War the names of 11 men who died in that conflict were added. The name of a soldier who died in Afghanistan was added in 2014.
Details
The tall sandstone memorial stands on a green at the east end of the village, within a square enclosure defined by a low, coursed stone wall with corner and centre piers. The memorial takes the form of a small cross head rising from a moulded collar on a tapering shaft. That stands on the pedimented top of a pedestal, square on plan. The pedestal stands on a four-stepped base.
The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the pedestal reads THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY,/ THEIR SOULS TO GOD/ AND THEIR NAMES/ TO POSTERITY with to the rear A TRIBUTE OF HONOUR/ (5 NAMES)/ 1914 – 1919. Three further First World War names of local men who had emigrated to Canada and Australia and served in the Commonwealth forces are recorded to one side, with the Second World War names recorded on the last face. The name of the soldier who died in 2013 in Afghanistan is recorded on the face of the upper step of the base.
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, 7 February 2017.
Sources
Websites
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 19/07/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7426
The Northern Echo, accessed 19/07/2016 from http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/11458514.Tributes_have_been_paid_to_a_Hamsterley_soldier_killed_in_Afghanistan_at_a_war_memorial_re_dedication/?ref=var_0
War Memorials Register, accessed 7 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/10258
War Memorials Online, accessed 7 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/214458
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 09-Jun-2026 at 22:47:04.
Download a full scale map (PDF)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.