Upper Hill War Memorial

Village Green, Upper Hill, Herefordshire, HR6 0JZ

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

Overview

First World War memorial by William G Storr Barber, with a further name added after the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1439042
Date first listed:: 01-Nov-2016
List Entry Name:: Upper Hill War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Village Green, Upper Hill, Herefordshire, HR6 0JZ

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1439042
Date first listed:: 01-Nov-2016
List Entry Name:: Upper Hill War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Village Green, Upper Hill, Herefordshire, HR6 0JZ

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

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

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:: Village Green, Upper Hill, Herefordshire, HR6 0JZ

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

District:: County of Herefordshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Birley with Upper Hill
National Grid Reference:: SO4721353421

Summary

First World War memorial by William G Storr Barber, with a further name added after the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

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.

History

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.

Details

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.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 21 July 2016 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/192532
War Memorials Register, accessed 21 July 2016 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/33115
War Memorials Trust, accessed 21 July 2016 from www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=1250

Legal

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