War Memorial, St John At Hackney Churchyard Gardens

War Memorial, St John at Hackney Churchyard Gardens

This war memorial was designed by sculptor Hermon Cawthra and stands in the churchyard gardens on Lower Clapton Road. It takes the form of a Portland stone pillar or obelisk with a stepped top, rising from a square base of three steps, the lower step being constructed of pale granite. A bronze robed figure of a knight occupies an upper niche on the north side of the pillar, holding a sword and wreath.

The upper level of the pillar bears the inscription "COURAGE / SACRIFICE". The north side features a stone plaque at the base of the pillar inscribed "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND TO THE HONOURED / MEMORY OF THE MEN / OF THIS BOROUGH WHO / MADE THE SUPREME / SACRIFICE DURING THE / GREAT WAR OF / 1914 - 1918". The south side displays a wreath surrounding a carved burning torch at the head of the pillar, with a stone plaque at the base reading "THE HOUSES IN / WATTISFORD ROAD / MILLFIELDS / ERECTED FOR THE USE / OF DISABLED SAILORS / AND SOLDIERS ARE A / FURTHER TRIBUTE OF / THE BOROUGH TO THE / MEMORY OF THE FALLEN". The west side bears a stone plaque inscribed "TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND TO THE HONOURED / MEMORY OF THE MEN / OF THIS BOROUGH WHO / MADE THE SUPREME / SACRIFICE DURING THE / GREAT WAR OF / 1939 - 1945". The east side has no inscription.

The memorial was designed by Hermon Cawthra FRBS ARCA (1886-1971), a sculptor working in stone, wood and bronze. Born in London, Cawthra studied at Salts Art School in Shipley, Leeds School of Art, the Royal College of Art, and the Royal Academy Schools. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and other leading galleries. His best-known work is the statue of Robert Burns of 1936 at the Burns Mausoleum in Dumfries. Cawthra designed several war memorials, including those at Bury and Bootle in Lancashire, and completed other notable works including a Mother and Child sculpture in Bishop's Park, Hammersmith and Fulham, and relief work for the Sadler's Wells Theatre building of 1930 in Islington (listed grade II).

The memorial was dedicated by the Bishop Suffragan of Stepney on 8 August 1921 and unveiled by Sergeant Harry Kenny and Sergeant Issy Smith. It commemorates the men of Hackney who served and died in the First and Second World Wars. The Builder magazine published pictures and an account of the memorial on 28 July 1922, noting that the design linked Hackney's connection with the mediaeval Crusades—the Knights Templar were located at Temple Mills in 1270—with the recent campaign in Jerusalem, in which Hackney churches had participated.

The almshouses referenced in the inscription on the south side, located in Wattisford Road and erected for disabled sailors and soldiers, were opened in 1923. Designed by Gunton & Gunton, they comprise a row of six cottages with a semi-detached house at each end.

The memorial has historic special interest as a permanent testimony to the sacrifice of Hackney's people in the early twentieth-century wars. It also possesses architectural interest through its striking design by a noted sculptor, with the stripped-down geometric design of the pillar providing a neat frame for the contrasting fluid and expressive bronze figure. The memorial has group value with the listed tombs in the churchyard, and stands in direct axial relationship with the grade II* listed church of St John at Hackney, complementing the church tower, which is also constructed from Portland stone.