War Memorial is a Grade II* listed building in the South Downs National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 October 1985. Memorial. 1 related planning application.
War Memorial
- WRENN ID
- haunted-groin-crow
- Grade
- II*
- Local Planning Authority
- South Downs National Park
- Constituency
- Lewes MP: James MacCleary (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 29 October 1985
- Type
- Memorial
- Address
- War Memorial, Junction of the High Street and Market Street, Lewes, BN7 2QS
- OS grid reference
- TQ 415 101
- Coordinates
- 50.87342, 0.01112
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The War Memorial is a significant structure made of Portland stone with bronze statuary, created by Vernon March. At the top, it features a winged bronze statue of Victory, facing east towards Flanders while holding a laurel wreath. This statue stands on a globe, which is positioned atop a truncated stone obelisk inscribed with the word "LIBERTY." The obelisk has channeled bed-joints and a moulded cap.
The memorial's base is cruciform, with steps between the piers. On the west face, there is a seated bronze figure of Liberty holding a torch. The east face features a similar figure of Peace, who has a dove on her left shoulder and holds a wreathed bronze shield on the south-east angle. This shield is inscribed with the words: "IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF LEWES / WHO DIED / FOR THEIR COUNTRY / AND FOR MANKIND / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 1918." The other diagonal faces display matching shields that list 251 names of the fallen.
Later additions to the obelisk include the phrase "THIS WAS THEIR FINEST HOUR" attributed to Winston Churchill, as well as the inscription "LIKEWISE / REMEMBER / THOSE OF / THIS TOWN / WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES / IN THE WAR / 1939-1945." Plaques with 126 names of those who died in the Second World War are affixed to the north and south faces of the memorial.
The memorial is prominently located at the junction of Market Street and the High Street.
Local climate
War Memorial receives an average of 850 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 59% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 90% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 15 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 85% of listed buildings. Of these, 8 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.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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