Summary

Barnet Boer War memorial takes the form of a marble obelisk on a plinth. It commemorates those Old Scholars of Barnet Boys School who fell in the Boer War (1899 - 1902) and was erected in 1903.

Description

A marble obelisk, the front and back of which are decorated with a relief of rifle and sword, crossed over a laurel wreath. This rests on a square pedestal, also of marble; the front face of this bears the inscription: To the Glory of God / And / In Memory of / (names, with regiments) / OLD SCHOLARS OF THE BOYS SCHOOL / CHRIST CHURCH, BARNET. / WHO FELL WHILE SERVING THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN OF 1899 - 1902 / THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED / BY THEIR OLD SCHOOL-FELLOWS AND FRIENDS / JULY 1903. / "RENDER TO ALL THEIR DUES/ HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR." This rests on a square marble platform set on a stone paving slab.

History

Whilst the earliest outdoor war memorials in Britain were erected following the end of the Crimean War in 1855, the practice of erecting monuments to fallen soldiers did not become more widespread until the Second South African War (1899-1902), commonly called the Boer War. This was the first conflict in which Volunteer and Yeomanry units served overseas: some 54,000 British volunteers fought in the Boer War, which had a significant impact at home as more than 22,000 men died. The Imperial War Museum’s War Memorials Register records nearly 2,000 Boer War memorials, many of which are tablets and plaques put up to individual combatants, but include Regimental monuments, and memorials raised by towns and counties to their lost citizens. Barnet Boer War memorial was erected in July 1903 by Field Marshal Lord Grenfell, GCB.

Reasons for Listing

Barnet Boer 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 they made in the Boer War (1899 - 1902);
* Design: as a simple yet dignified marble obelisk memorial;
* Group value: with the adjacent Grade II-listed Christ Church.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Barnet Boys School Boer War Memorial at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q31137129

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

• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  For the Record
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings