Stratford-upon-Avon Second World War Memorial
Garden of Remembrance, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BW
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1439305
- Date first listed:
- 14-Oct-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Stratford-upon-Avon Second World War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Garden of Remembrance, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BW
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1439305
- Date first listed:
- 14-Oct-2016
- List Entry Name:
- Stratford-upon-Avon Second World War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Garden of Remembrance, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BW
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:
- Garden of Remembrance, Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BW
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Warwickshire
- District:
- Stratford-on-Avon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Stratford-upon-Avon
- National Grid Reference:
- SP2002754433
Summary
War memorial, circa 1954.
Reasons for Designation
Stratford-upon-Avon’s Second World War Memorial is designated 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 Second World War and subsequent conflicts of the C20 and C21;
* Architectural interest: an accomplished and well-realised design which good attention to its decorative detail;
* Degree of survival: the memorial survives intact in its original location;
* Group value: it has group value with the First World War Memorial also located in the Garden of Remembrance.
History
The Second World War Memorial in Stratford-upon-Avon is located in the Garden of Remembrance. The garden opened in 1954 following the donation of the land to the Stratford branch of the Royal British Legion in 1951.
Details
War memorial, circa 1954.
MATERIALS: constructed of limestone.
DESCRIPTION: the war memorial comprises a concave wall of coursed limestone ashlar with moulded coping stones. It is approached by a semi-circular, three-stepped base. The top of the wall is inscribed with a quotation from William Shakespeare’s play Henry V, and the extract from Act IV, Scene iii, often referred to as the St Crispin’s Day speech, reads:
FROM THIS DAY TO THE ENDING OF THE WORLD, BUT WE IN IT SHALT BE / REMEMBERED: WE FEW, WE HAPPY FEW, WE BAND OF BROTHERS
Beneath are a row of five bronze plaques set in chamfered niches. The central plaque is inscribed:
IN / GRATEFUL MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF / STRATFORD / UPON / AVON / WHO LAID DOWN / THEIR LIVES FOR / THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE 1939-1945 / WAR
The names of the 100 men who died in the conflict are listed on the other four plaques. The central stone shelf below is for displaying wreaths, and to either side is an additional bronze plaque. That to the left is inscribed ALSO THOSE KILLED ON / ACTIVE SERVICE OR SERVICE OF / A WAR LIKE NATURE SINCE 1945, beneath which five names have been added. That to the right is titled SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1946 and lists a further six names.
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 17 January 2017.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 5 September 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/38573
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/85897
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed building is shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 15:35:20.
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.