Fence Houses War Memorial including wall, piers and railings

The memorial stands at the roadside on South Crescent. It takes the form of a Classical sarcophagus, built of Greenlane freestone. The monument, rectangular on plan, has an entablature with a frieze of triglyphs and metopes, above which is a band of Greek key ornament and corner acroteria. Surmounting this is a corniced sepulchral block on which is carved LEST WE FORGET.

To the front, a pedimented niche decorated with rosettes and spiral designs carved in low relief houses a plaque of pink Balmoral marble. On that the principal dedicatory inscription, incised and gilded, reads IN HONOUR/ OF ALL THOSE GALLANT MEN OF/ FENCE HOUSES/ AND DISTRICT/ WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914 – 1918/ 1939 – 1945.

Two small rectangular plaques have been added to the front face of the memorial. That to the left is ornamented with a depiction of Great Britain and the inscription THIS PLAQUE HONOURS/ BRITISH ARMED FORCES/ KILLED IN ACTION/ SERVING THIS NATION/ 1945 – PRESENT DAY/ “THEY LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE DEFENCE OF THIS KINGDOM.” That to the right is ornamented with a cross and reads THE PEOPLE OF FENCE HOUSES/ WISH TO EMBRACE/ BRITISH ARMED FORCES/ WHO LOST THEIR LIVES/ 1945 – PRESENT DAY/ IN THE TRIBUTES AND THOUGHTS/ EXPRESSED ON THIS MEMORIAL.

The memorial is raised on a single step in a paved area, with a low stone wall to the rear abutting to either side. The far ends of this wall end in stone piers with pyramidal caps, from which railings, on a low stone kerb, curve around to stone piers with plain square caps at the pavement edge. The wall, piers and railings contribute to the special interest of the war memorial and are included in the listing. The pavement is excluded from the listing.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 23 November 2017.