Wareside War Memorial

Wareside War Memorial was erected around 1920 to commemorate the 19 local men who died in the First World War, with Second World War names subsequently added. The memorial is constructed from granite stone, set on a red brick platform and approached by steps. It has a square plan, with three steps leading up to it from the north-west.

The memorial itself stands approximately 4 metres high and takes the form of a carved cross with a tapering shaft, standing on a square plinth above a three-stepped base, all set on a brick platform laid in a herringbone pattern. A bordered set of three low steps approach the memorial from the north-west. The location is slightly elevated above the surrounding land, with views over fields towards the River Ash to the south-east.

The front of the plinth is inscribed with the words “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 north-east and south-west faces of the plinth list the names of the 19 local men who died in the First World War. The rear (south-east) face lists the names of the two men who died in the Second World War, above and below a cross pattée motif featuring a carved rose. Inscriptions and an epitaph on the upper step of the base, reading “ALSO OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE WAR / 1939-1945”, were added later, using a font similar to the original Roman serif lettering. The memorial is a prominent landmark on the B1004 road between Ware and Bishop’s Stortford, positioned at the junction with the road to Reeves Green. The planted area surrounding the memorial is not considered to be of special architectural or historic interest.