Old Basing War Memorial
Church of St Mary, Church Lane, Old Basing, Basingstoke, RG24 7DJ
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1467191
- Date first listed:
- 11-Dec-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Old Basing War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St Mary, Church Lane, Old Basing, Basingstoke, RG24 7DJ
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1467191
- Date first listed:
- 11-Dec-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Old Basing War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Church of St Mary, Church Lane, Old Basing, Basingstoke, RG24 7DJ
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:
- Church of St Mary, Church Lane, Old Basing, Basingstoke, RG24 7DJ
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hampshire
- District:
- Basingstoke and Deane (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Old Basing and Lychpit
- National Grid Reference:
- SU6657652906
Summary
Historic England is assessing the Old Basing War Memorial for listing as part of the First World War Commemoration project.
Reasons for Designation
Old Basing 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 conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as a well-worked stone cross monument with original memorial inscriptions.
Group value:
* with the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary to the north.
History
The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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 erected at Old Basing in the grounds of the Church of St Mary as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Inscriptions have been added to the memorial to commemorate the fallen from the Second World War and the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960).
Details
First World War memorial cross, erected around 1920.
DESCRIPTION: stone memorial cross set upon an octagonal plinth and three-stepped base. The faces of the plinth bear incised inscriptions, the principal face reads: ‘TO THE PRAISE AND/ GLORY OF GOD IN/ UNDYING GRATITUDE/ TO THE MEN WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ AND IN LOVING/ MEMORY OF THOSE/ FROM THIS PARISH/ 1914-1918’. The opposing face carries the inscription ‘THEN WERE THE/ PEOPLE GLAD/ BECAUSE THEY/ OFFERED WILLINGLY’.
Names are inscribed onto the remaining plinth faces and the steps, with the regiment and the place in which they fell noted beneath. A later inscription commemorating those who fell in the Second World War has been added to the plinth, this reading: ‘THIS TABLET/ IS DEDICATED/ TO THE MEMORY/ OF/ THOSE WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES/ IN/ THE SERVICE OF/ KING AND COUNTRY/ 1939-1945/ (NAMES)’
Sources
Websites
IWM War Memorials Register: Old Basing Memorial Cross, accessed 4 October 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/21241
War Memorials Online: Old Basing Memorial Cross, accessed 4 October 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/102827/
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 09-Jun-2026 at 21:54:14.
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.