Summary

War memorial. 1921 designed by Frederic Herbert Mansford. Names of the fallen of the Second World War added in 1948. C21 addition of memorial stones to Victoria Cross recipients.

Description

War memorial. 1921 designed by Frederic Herbert Mansford. Names of the fallen of the Second World War were added in 1948. C21 addition of memorial stones to VC recipients.

MATERIALS: Portland stone.

DESCRIPTION: situated at the south-eastern corner of Harefield village green overlooking the pond, the memorial takes the form of a 10m high obelisk, standing on a plinth with a two-tiered base. The north-east and south-west faces of the obelisk bear the dates 1914 and 1918 respectively. Each face of the plinth is adorned with a laurel leaf swag. Below these, the north-west face of the plinth bears the inscription ’TO THE/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD’ with the other three sides bearing the names of the 79 fallen. The names of the 34 fallen of the Second World War are inscribed on the base of the north-west face of the obelisk itself.

The memorial is surrounded by a rectangular area of stone paving slabs with four panels of pebble cobbles and a flight of six stone steps descending the pond bank. The steps are flanked at the top by a pair of low stone piers. The paving to the north-west of the obelisk includes two stones engraved with the names of the recipients of the Victoria Cross, Privates Cecil John Kinross and Robert Edward Ryder added in 2014. These include depictions of the Victoria Cross, names of the regiments and the dates the actions for which the award was made took place.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 16 February 2017.

History

The memorial, commemorating those from the village of Harefield who fell in the First World War, was designed by the architect, Frederic Herbert Mansford, and dedicated on 17 July 1921. The names of the fallen from the Second World War were added in 1948. In 2014, two engraved paving slabs were added at the foot of the memorial commemorating two First World War recipients of the Victoria Cross who were born in the village, Private Cecil John Kinross (1896-1957) and Private Robert Edward Ryder (1895-1978).

Frederic Herbert Mansford (1871-1946) was responsible for a number of housing and office schemes in London. His most high-profile commission was Conway Hall on Red Lion Square, Holborn for the South Place Ethical Society, completed in 1929 (Grade II).

Reasons for Listing

Harefield War Memorial, designed by the architect Frederic Herbert Mansford and unveiled in 1921, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of a world events on this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: as an accomplished example of a popular form of war memorial by a noted London architect.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677362

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings