Ross District War Memorial
Prospect Gardens, St Mary's Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5HT
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1439203
- Date first listed:
- 04-Nov-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Ross District War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Prospect Gardens, St Mary's Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5HT
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1439203
- Date first listed:
- 04-Nov-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Ross District War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Prospect Gardens, St Mary's Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5HT
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:
- Prospect Gardens, St Mary's Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5HT
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- County of Herefordshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Ross-on-Wye
- National Grid Reference:
- SO5971024029
Summary
First World War memorial by Alfred William Ursell, unveiled on 4 July 1921,with further names added after the Second World War and later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Ross District 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 this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a simple yet dignified granite Latin cross;
* Group value: with the wall (Grade II) and gate (Grade II*) around Prospect Gardens.
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 Ross-on-Wye as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Ross District War Memorial was built by Alfred William Ursell, a mason, at a cost of £400 and it commemorates 105 local servicemen who fell in the First World War.
It was unveiled on 4 July 1921 by Rev R T A Money-Kyrle and Col O R Middleton, JP Chairman of the Ross District Council.
The memorial originally had two German field guns sited with it which were removed in the 1930s.
Following the Second World War 44 names were added with a further name being added following the Falklands Conflict.
In 2008 it was discovered that the war memorial had been erected on top of a Roman settlement and so the memorial was dismantled and stored to allow archaeological investigations to take place. The memorial was subsequently repositioned approximately 50m from its original location and was rededicated.
In 2009 the memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.
Details
MATERIALS: granite.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial is located in Prospect Gardens, next to St Mary’s churchyard. It consists of a large Latin cross rising from a square shaft on a square plinth. The plinth is set upon a sloping base and single step.
The plinth has a painted leaded dedication on the front face which reads: TO/ THE GLORY OF GOD AND/ IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ IN THE ROSS DISTRICT/ WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT/ LIVE IN PEACE AND LIBERTY. The other faces of the plinth and sloping base have lists of the names of the fallen including those from the Second World War and one from the Falklands War.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Trust, accessed 21 August 2016 from www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=718
War Memorials Online, accessed 21 August 2016 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/91360
War Memorials Register, accessed 21 August 2016 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/32982
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 28-Jun-2026 at 05:00:33.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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