War memorial outside St Mary Magdelene's Church, Richmond

The churchyard, St Mary Magdelene's Church, Church Walk, Richmond upon Thames, London, TW9 1SN

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920, with later additions. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1448212
Date first listed:: 26-Jul-2017
List Entry Name:: War memorial outside St Mary Magdelene's Church, Richmond
Statutory Address:: The churchyard, St Mary Magdelene's Church, Church Walk, Richmond upon Thames, London, TW9 1SN

User submitted image — Uploaded by War Memorials Online This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1448212
Date first listed:: 26-Jul-2017
List Entry Name:: War memorial outside St Mary Magdelene's Church, Richmond
Statutory Address 1:: The churchyard, St Mary Magdelene's Church, Church Walk, Richmond upon Thames, London, TW9 1SN

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: The churchyard, St Mary Magdelene's Church, Church Walk, Richmond upon Thames, London, TW9 1SN

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Greater London Authority
District:: Richmond upon Thames (London Borough)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: TQ1793274852

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920, with later additions.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial which stands outside the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Richmond, 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 local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;

Architectural interest:

* An elegant and well-proportioned war memorial in the manner of an Eleanor Cross, including a statue of St George with the dragon;

Group value: * With the Church of St Mary Magdalene (Grade II*) and 3 and 4, Church Walk (Grade II).

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. 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 outside the Church of St Mary Magdalene, Richmond as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled on 11 November 1920 by the Archdeacon of Middlesex, in commemoration of 120 local servicemen who died in the First World War. Following the Second World War a further 39 names were added to the Church’s Roll of Honour, and a new plaque was added to the memorial in 1995.

Details

The tall stone memorial stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Mary Magdalene (Grade II*-listed), c10m to the north of the church’s north aisle and opposite numbers 3 and 4 Church Walk (Grade II-listed). It takes the form of an Eleanor Cross, in three stages. A small cross surmounts the upper, hexagonal, lantern. The middle stage, with alternating blind and pierced arches, includes a sculpture of St George standing over the vanquished dragon in the front-facing arcade.

The bottom stage, also hexagonal on plan, is formed of two tiers of blind arcading. The principal dedicatory inscription, carved in relief in the band between these tiers, reads: REMEMBER THE MEN OF RICHMOND WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919. The commemorated names are recorded on a Roll of Honour inside the adjacent church.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 12 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/111229/
War Memorials Register, accessed 12 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/12519

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.