Wareside War Memorial

Wareside war memorial, erected c1920 to commemorate the 19 local men who fell in the First World War with Second World War inscriptions added.

MATERIALS: granite stone with red brick platform and steps.

PLAN: square plan-form with a set of three steps to the north-west.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial, which stands approximately 4 metres in height, takes the form of a carved cross with tapering shaft which stands on a square plinth above a three-stepped base and a brick platform laid in a herringbone pattern. The memorial is approached from the north-west by a bordered set of three low-set brick steps. The semi-circular plot occupied by the memorial is slightly elevated above the surrounding terrain and has views over fields towards the River Ash to the south-east.

The frontal elevation of the plinth is inscribed with the epitaph “TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN HONOUR OF / THE MEN / OF / WARESIDE / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN / THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1918 / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE”. The flanking elevations of the plinth, to the north-east and south-west, are inscribed with the names of 19 local men who fell in the conflict. The rear (south-east) elevation carries the names of the two men who fell in the Second World War, these set above and beneath a cross pattée motif with a central rose carved in relief. The south-east face inscriptions, along with an epitaph on the frontal upper step of the base which reads “ALSO OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE WAR / 1939-1945”, were added at some stage after the conflict, the carving here closely following the Roman serif lettering of the original inscriptions. The memorial constitutes a significant landmark along the B1004 road from Ware to Bishop’s Stortford, being prominently positioned at the junction with the road to Reeves Green.

Pursuant to s.1.5A of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act, 1990, the semi-circular planted area surrounding the memorial is not of special architectural or historic interest.

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, 12 January 2017.