Godalming War Memorial

The Godalming War Memorial was erected in 1921 to commemorate the First World War, with additions marking the Second World War. It is situated on a raised platform against a retaining wall, bordered by the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul and the Phillips Memorial Park. The memorial’s setting includes numerous Grade II-listed monuments in the churchyard, the Grade I-listed Church of St Peter and St Paul, and the Grade II-listed Phillips Memorial Cloister within the park.

The memorial is a Doulting stone Latin cross with a hexagonal shaft featuring a moulded foot. This rises from a two-tiered plinth; the upper tier is smaller and hexagonal, while the lower is larger and shaped as a 12-pointed star. The plinth sits upon a single-stepped base, also in the form of a 12-pointed star, and bears the dates of the wars inscribed on both sides: 1914/1918 on the upper tier, and 1939/1945 directly below.

The memorial stands on a hexagonal platform of roughly-coursed Doulting stone blocks that aligns with the height of the retaining wall itself. The park side of the wall features a three-stepped, paved platform leading to two black granite plaques affixed to the wall. The larger plaque commemorates those who died in the Second World War (1939-1945), listing 109 names in columns. The smaller plaque records those who died in the First World War (1914-1918), noting that their names are displayed on a tablet within the church.

The retaining wall is constructed from roughly-coursed stone blocks with rounded stone coping, although there is no coping directly beneath the memorial. The wall projects outwards on either side of the memorial to form a point before sloping back. Wooden park benches are affixed to the stepped platform, positioned on either side of the plaques. These benches are not considered to be of particular architectural or historic interest.