Spitalfields Christ Church War Memorial

The Spitalfields Christ Church War Memorial is a First World War memorial, erected around 1920 by the monumental masons Haile & Son Ltd of London. It is made of rough-hewn grey granite with applied lead lettering.

The memorial is situated in the gardens to the south of Christ Church on Commercial Street, Spitalfields, specifically in the southern section of Christ Church Gardens next to a path leading from Commercial Street to the west. The memorial features a roughly hewn Latin cross that stands atop a conical cairn-type base, with both elements being of nearly equal height. The entire structure is approximately 12 feet tall and about 4 feet wide at the base of the cairn. The base consists of blocks of rough-hewn granite arranged in courses and set on a similarly battered flush plinth course made of pecked granite. Individual blocks around the circumference of the cairn display the names and ranks of 81 fallen soldiers in lead lettering, applied within rectangular smooth-dressed fields, although not every block carries a name. The base of the cairn also notes the maker: 'HAILE & SON LTD, BOSTON RD NW’.

The main inscription, also in applied lead lettering, is located on the north face of the horizontal arm of the cross and reads: ‘GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN / THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS / LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS’. Beneath this inscription, on the north side of the memorial near the bottom of the cross and close to the top of the cairn, are the dates '1914 / 1918' in applied lead lettering, which are also repeated on the south side of the memorial.