'The Cross': a hill-figure war memorial at Lenham is a Grade II listed building in the Maidstone local planning authority area, England. First listed on 5 December 2017. War memorial.
'The Cross': a hill-figure war memorial at Lenham
- WRENN ID
- tall-portal-tarn
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Maidstone
- Constituency
- Faversham and Mid Kent MP: Helen Whately (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 5 December 2017
- Type
- War memorial
- OS grid reference
- TQ 905 527
- Coordinates
- 51.24229, 0.72901
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
'The Cross' is a hill-figure war memorial located in Lenham, constructed in 1922 and designed by Mr. C H Groom. It was unveiled by Major-General Sir Arthur Lynden-Bell KCB KCMG DL JP.
The memorial is made of compacted chalk on a natural chalk base and takes the form of a chalk Latin cross carved into the south-facing slope of the North Downs, just north of 'The Pilgrims Way' trackway, overlooking the village of Lenham, Kent. The cross measures approximately 61.5 meters from north to south and 21.6 meters from east to west.
To the south of the cross, 27 meters away, there is a separate enclosure that originally contained a memorial stone. This enclosure is surrounded by iron railings set on low stone walls. Inside, six steps lead up to a terrace that features a wooden bench fixed to a concrete base.
A memorial plaque affixed to the gate of the railed enclosure is inscribed with the following text: "THE WHITE CROSS/ ON THE HILL/ COMMEMORATES THE DEAD OF THE TWO WORLD WARS/ THE MEMORIAL STONE WITHIN THIS ENCLOSURE WAS REMOVED TO THE CHURCHYARD/ IN 1960/ THE SEAT WAS PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE/ OF LENHAM BY THE ASHFORD BRANCH OF THE/ REME ASSOCIATION TO COMMEMORATE THEIR CLOSE/ LINKS WITH THE MEMORIAL WAS PRESENTED/ IN 1977." (The last sentence is partly illegible.)
Local climate
'The Cross': a hill-figure war memorial at Lenham sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 720 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 83% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 61% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 26 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 72% of listed buildings. Of these, 12 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
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