War memorial in St John's churchyard

Summary

Stone war memorial of about 1920 by Temple Moore.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in St John's churchyard, Hampstead, of about 1920 designed by Temple Moore, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:
* An eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this part of the community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War;

Architectural interest:
* As an impressive carved stone monument by a renowned C19 architect;

Group value:
* With the adjacent Church of St John and boundary wall, separately listed.

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 at the Church of St John in Hampstead. The memorial was built around 1920, on top of the existing Church of St John boundary wall (which is separately listed). It was designed by Temple Moore and Leslie Moore, a local architectural practice, who also added the morning chapel and improved the vestries in the church. Temple Moore was articled to George Gilbert Scott Jr, and by 1878 he had set up his own practice. Moore's pupils in his practice included Giles Gilbert Scott, son of George. In 1905 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Moore's only son, Richard, was articled to his father and it was expected that he would continue the practice. However he was killed in 1918 aboard the RMS Leinster, which was torpedoed and sunk. Temple Moore died at his home in Hampstead in 1920, and was buried at St John's Church, Hampstead. Richard Moore is remembered on the memorial.

In the early C21 the monument was repaired and cleaned.

Details

Stone war memorial of around 1920 by Temple Moore.

MATERIALS: limestone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands upon a north-eastern section of the boundary wall of the Church of St John. It is formed of a balustrade surmounted by a central shaft and cross. The balustrade is made up of double-vase balusters which are around 1.5m high, and run for approximately 12m east to west. It is supported by five rectangular piers which project through the rail of the balustrade. Each pier is inscribed with names of the fallen except for the central example which has the moto 'PRO PATRIA' (for country) carved in relief inside a garland of laurel leaves. Beneath the balustrade there is a stone string course upon which is inscribed the Roman numerals VCVXIV-VCVXVIII (1914-1918). From the east the first two tablets carry the inscribed names of 44 fallen from the First World War. The western two tablets carry the names of 45 fallen, also from the First World War. No ranks are recorded. The shaft rises from a chamfered and moulded rectangular base which sits centrally on the top of the balustrade. It narrows as it rises to form a simple cross.


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, 10 November 2017.

Sources

Websites
Victoria History Online, accessed 4 August 2017 from https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol9/pp145-152
War Memorials Trust, accessed 4 August 2017 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=641
War Memorials Register, accessed 10 November 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/46962
War Memorials Online, accessed 10 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/77962

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