Offenham War Memorial
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1453228
- Date first listed:
- 26-Jun-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Offenham War Memorial
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1453228
- Date first listed:
- 26-Jun-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Offenham War Memorial
- Location Description:
- located within the churchyard of the Church of St Mary and St Milburgh, Main Street, Offenham, Worcestershire
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
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Worcestershire
- District:
- Wychavon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Offenham
- National Grid Reference:
- SP0534546239
Summary
War memorial, erected around 1920. Designed by W H Gardiner of Evesham.
Reasons for Designation
Offenham war memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as an accomplished and well-realised stone war memorial with good attention to decorative detailing that demonstrates the quality of the craftsmanship.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Group value:
* with the Church of St Mary and St Milburgh (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.
It is not known when the war memorial at Offenham was erected and commemorated, but it was likely to be during the 1920s. It was designed by W H Gardiner of Evesham and was built at a cost of £175, raised by public subscription.
The memorial commemorates 19 local servicemen who died during the First World War. The names of five men were added following the Second World War.
Details
War memorial, erected around 1920. Designed by W H Gardiner of Evesham.
MATERIALS: carved from limestone.
DESCRIPTION: located within the churchyard of the Church of St Mary and St Milburgh (Grade II*), the war memorial comprises a small wheel cross on top of an obelisk that has raised tapered panels with convex corners. The square pedestal comprises the dado and a two-tier plinth. To each of the four sides of the dado is a raised square panel with convex corners to the top, and set beneath carved hood moulds with hemi-spherical heads. The whole is surmounted on a three-stepped stone platform. The inscription on the east face of the dado reads:
IN MEMORY / OF THE OFFENHAM MEN / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / SERVING THEIR COUNTRY / DURING THE GREAT WARS / 1914 – 1919 / 1939 – 1945 / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS / THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS 1 ST JOHN XV 13.
Beneath, on the top tier of the plinth, is the dedication LEST WE FORGET.
The other three sides of the dado record the names of the 19 men of the parish who died in the First World War. On the west face have been added the names of the five men who died in the Second World War.
Sources
Websites
Offenham War Memorial, accessed 30 January 2018 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=206
Offenham War Memorial, accessed 30 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/91774
Men of Offenham - WW1 & WW2, accessed 30 January 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/32558
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 16-Jun-2026 at 08:57:40.
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.