Riddlesdown War Memorial
St James' Church, St James' Road, Riddlesdown, Purley, Surrey, CR8 2DL
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1442717
- Date first listed:
- 27-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Riddlesdown War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- St James' Church, St James' Road, Riddlesdown, Purley, Surrey, CR8 2DL
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1442717
- Date first listed:
- 27-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Riddlesdown War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- St James' Church, St James' Road, Riddlesdown, Purley, Surrey, CR8 2DL
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:
- St James' Church, St James' Road, Riddlesdown, Purley, Surrey, CR8 2DL
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Croydon (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ3193760723
Summary
War memorial in the form of a gabled cross on a plinth.
Reasons for Designation
Riddlesdown 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 sacrifices they made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: as a dignified war memorial in the form of a gabled Calvary cross.
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 the country. One such memorial was raised in at St James' Church in Riddlesdown as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community. It was designed by F H Greenaway and J E Newberry and unveiled in a ceremony held on 12 December 1920, which was attended by the Reverend Canon Henry Granville Dickson. It was re-dedicated, presumably to honour the Fallen of the Second World War, on the 12 November 1950 by the Reverend FJ Gilbert.
Details
Tall stone octagonal pillar, topped by a gabled Calvary. This rests on an X-shaped plinth, each face of which bears inscriptions. The front three read as follows - the left-most: ALSO / OF THOSE / WHO DIED / IN THE / WORLD WAR / A.D. / 1939 - 1945; the middle: IN HONOURED AND / LOVING MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO MADE / THE GREAT SACRIFICE / IN THE WORLD WAR / ANNO DOMINE 1914 - 1918 / IN THE HOPE OF PEACE / & GOODWILL ON EARTH; and the right: MAY THEY FIND PEACE AND JOY / + / JESUS SAID: / A NEW COMMANDMENT / I GIVE UNTO YOU / THAT YE LOVE / ONE ANOTHER. The other faces bear the names of the Fallen, with those from the Second World War listed on a face headed with '1939 - 1945'. The memorial rests on a square base.
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, 23 November 2017.
Sources
Books and journals
Cox, Ronald, At the Going Down of the Sun... An Account of Croydon's War Memorials, (1992), 51
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 16th December 2016 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/10771
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253718
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 01-Jul-2026 at 22:22:35.
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.