Lambeth Civilian War Memorial
Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0BY
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1462018
- Date first listed:
- 08-Feb-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Lambeth Civilian War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0BY
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
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 |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1462018
- Date first listed:
- 08-Feb-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Lambeth Civilian War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0BY
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:
- Lambeth Cemetery, Blackshaw Road, Tooting, London, SW17 0BY
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Greater London Authority
- District:
- Wandsworth (London Borough)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- TQ2682871074
Summary
Civilian war memorial, erected in 1952. Restored circa 2008.
Reasons for Designation
The Lambeth Civilian War Memorial in Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as a dignified and poignant testament to the impact of Second World War bombing on the community of Lambeth;
Architectural interest:
* for its striking and spacious design, combining a wall for contemplating the names of the fallen with a sculptural element in the form of the symbolic chest tomb, and a landscape element in the form of enclosed grassed areas.
History
The memorial commemorates civilians killed by aerial bombardment in Lambeth during the Second World War. The memorial bears about 360 names, and its inscription suggests that the names are those of people buried in a mass grave at the site of the memorial. It is thought that altogether some 1646 Lambeth civilians were killed during the Second World War. Lambeth’s greatest loss of life took place in Kennington Park in October 1940, when 104 people were killed by a direct hit to a trench shelter. The Lambeth Civilian War Memorial was erected and unveiled in 1952. In circa 2008 it was restored, and the bronze plaques replaced with resin copies.
The memorial is set at the south-east corner of Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The cemetery opened in 1854, and has unlisted Gothic lodges and chapels of that date by F. K. Wehnert and J. Ashdown. The south-west corner of the cemetery contains war memorials to those who fought in the First and Second World Wars, as well as Commonwealth burials of both conflicts.
Details
Civilian war memorial, 1952. Restored circa 2008.
MATERIALS: Portland stone. The original cast bronze plaques with raised lettering made by H H Martins were replaced by resin copies circa 2008.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial consists of a stepped stone wall, facing north-west, curved inwards and terminating in two piers with shallow pyramidal caps. The central raised section holds a carved panel with the Lambeth coat of arms. The motto beneath reads ‘SPECTEMUR AGENDO’ (‘let us be judged by our conduct’). The bronze plaque beneath reads: ‘1939/1945 / IN MEMORY / of / THOSE CITIZENS OF LAMBETH / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN / THE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT / OF LONDON DURING THE / SECOND WORLD WAR / AND WERE LAID TO REST BENEATH THIS SPOT. / They died that the spirit of freedom / might live.’ To either side three plaques are set horizontally, bearing the names of those lost.
To the north-west, the wall encloses a low semi-circular dais at the centre of which is a symbolic chest tomb with an angled cross resting on it. Long planters extend to either side of the tomb. There are two wide shallow steps in front of the tomb, and narrower steps at either end leading to a path in front of the wall, from which the plaques can be viewed. The dais is completed by segmental grassed areas, bounded by a stone kerb, forming part of the memorial.
Sources
Books and journals
Smith, C, Lest We Forget in Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management Journal, (2008), 41
Websites
War Memorials Online ref 176151, accessed 7 December 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/176151
Inventory of War Memorials ref 59429, accessed 7 December 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/59429
Lambeth Archives photograph dated 20 December 1952, accessed 7 December 2018 from https://boroughphotos.org/lambeth/civilian-war-memorial-lambeth-cemetery-tooting/
Lambeth civilian war dead record, accessed 7 December 2018 from https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004932/LAMBETH,%20METROPOLITAN%20BOROUGH
Sutton and Croydon Guardian, 25 May 2010, accessed 25 January 2018 from https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/8182410.war-plaque-defaced-at-cemetery-in-tooting/
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, accessed 19 December 2018 from https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4004932/LAMBETH,%20METROPOLITAN%20BOROUGH
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 27-Jun-2026 at 20:21:24.
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.