St Mary Cray War Memorial
St Mary’s Church, High Street, St Mary Cray, Kent, BR5 3NL
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1445170
- Date first listed:
- 29-Jun-2017
- List Entry Name:
- St Mary Cray War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- St Mary’s Church, High Street, St Mary Cray, Kent, BR5 3NL
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1445170
- Date first listed:
- 29-Jun-2017
- List Entry Name:
- St Mary Cray War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- St Mary’s Church, High Street, St Mary Cray, Kent, BR5 3NL
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 Mary’s Church, High Street, St Mary Cray, Kent, BR5 3NL
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Bromley (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ4723368352
Summary
Portland stone wheeled cross war memorial, unveiled 1919.
Reasons for Designation
St Mary Cray 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 it made in the First World War;
* Design: as a simple yet dignified Portland stone cross war memorial;
* Group value: with the Grade II*-listed St Mary's Church.
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.This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also 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 in St Mary Cray at St Mary's Church as a permanent testament to the sacrifices made by the members of the local community. It was unveiled on 29 December 1919 by the Archdeacon of Rochester D Tait, the Vicar of St Mary's Reverend AH Stevenson, and one Mrs RB Berens. It was made by Messrs. Watts and Co of Baker Street, London at a cost of circa £85. By 1996 the original inscription on the plinth has eroded so badly as to be unreadable, so an inscribed metal plaque was attached by Bromley Council.
Details
Wheel headed cross on a tall shaft, which sits atop a slightly trapezoidal plinth, all of Portland stone. The front face originally bore an inscription which has since eroded so badly as to be illegible; according to sources it read: THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918 / TO THE GREAT AND IMPERISHABLE MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE LASTING / WELFARE OF THEIR COUNTRY / LIFT UP YOUR HEARTS: / WE LIFT THEM UP UNTO THE LORD. Over this there is now a metal plaque, which reads: THIS MEMORIAL WAS ERECTED TO / THE MEMORY OF OFFICERS AND MEN / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN / THE GREAT WAR / 1914 - 1918 / (THEIR NAMES ARE COMMEMORATED / IN FULL INSIDE THE CHURCH). The plinth rests upon a stone platform.
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 25 July 2017.
Sources
Websites
IWM - St Mary's Church, accessed 22 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/3854
Bromley Council - War Memorials in Bromley, accessed 22 February 2017 from http://www.bromley.gov.uk/downloads/file/286/war_memorials_in_bromley
War Memorials Online, accessed 20 July 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/170620
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 06:26:14.
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.