Eastbourne War Memorial
Memorial Roundabout, South Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4QH
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1441521
- Date first listed:
- 13-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Eastbourne War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Memorial Roundabout, South Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4QH
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1441521
- Date first listed:
- 13-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Eastbourne War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Memorial Roundabout, South Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4QH
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:
- Memorial Roundabout, South Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4QH
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- East Sussex
- District:
- Eastbourne (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TV6123298830
Summary
First World War memorial with sculpture by Henry Charles Fehr, with additions for the Second World War and for subsequent conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Eastbourne 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: the ensemble as a whole is of considerable merit in terms of its composition, craftsmanship and high quality materials;
* Sculptural interest: a notable example of the work of the distinguished sculptor Henry Fehr with finely modelled and detailed bronze statuary.
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.
Eastbourne War Memorial was commissioned in 1919 and unveiled on 10 November 1920 by General The Lord Horne GCB KCMG ADC. It carries no names, but over 1,000 names of the fallen are inscribed on oak panels in the Town Hall.
The sculptor was Henry Charles Fehr (1867-1940), who used the same figure at several other locations. Fehr was a distinguished and prolific sculptor whose work was stylistically close to the ‘New Sculpture’ movement - the late-C19 renaissance in British sculpture which rejected the stylised neo-classicism of conventional figure sculpture in favour of naturalistic, often allegorical, forms. Fehr produced many fine public sculptures and war memorials and some exceptional work for civic buildings, notably Middlesex Guildhall, Westminster, West Riding County Hall, Wakefield, and Cardiff City Hall. A number of his war memorials are listed in the higher grade of Grade II* including those at Colchester, Keighley and Burton upon Trent.
A plaque has been added to Eastbourne War Memorial for the Second World War, and one for subsequent conflicts.
Details
MATERIALS: Granite memorial with bronze sculpture and plaques.
DESCRIPTION: Eastbourne War Memorial stands on the roundabout at the top of Devonshire Place. It consists of a tall square pedestal which supports a bronze figure of the Angel of Victory, standing with one foot on a wreathed globe and holding aloft a sword and wreath. The pedestal has a stepped top above a cavetto cornice, with bronze mounts of winged cherubic heads on the top corners and dolphins on the bottom, and a moulded base. There is a bronze wreath between the cherubs on the front south face over a bronze plaque with raised lettering reading THE TRIBUTE OF/ EASTBOURNE/ TO HER GALLANT/ SONS AND DAUGHTERS/ WHO WERE FAITHFUL/ UNTO DEATH/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ THEIR NAMES/ ARE RECORDED/ ON OAK TABLETS/ IN THE TOWN HALL. The plinth has a moulded base and stands on two steps.
A matching plaque has been added to the north face with WORLD/ WAR/ II within a wreath and below THOSE WHO DIED/ 1939 – 1945 WE/ WILL/ REMEMBER THEM.
A mismatched plaque for subsequent conflicts, with a gilded border, wreath and lettering, has been added on the east side.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120458
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/2108
Public Sculptures of Sussex, accessed 9 Nov 2016 from www.publicsculpturesofsussex.co.uk
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 10-Jun-2026 at 20:24:24.
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.