Croydon Cenotaph
The cenotaph in 2010
51°22′20″N 0°05′58″W / 51.372281°N 0.099355°W / 51.372281; -0.099355
LocationKatharine Street, Croydon, London, England
Designer
Material
Opening date21 October 1921 (1921-10-21)
Dedicated toWar dead

Croydon Cenotaph is a war memorial, in Croydon, London, England. It is located outside the Croydon Clocktower arts complex (historically Croydon Town Hall), on Katharine Street in Croydon.[1][2]

The cenotaph, made from Portland stone, was designed by James Burford ARIBA and was unveiled on 22 October 1921,[2] to commemorate local victims of the First World War.

It is framed by two bronze statues of seated figures by Paul Raphael Montford, cast at the M. Maneti foundry.[2] One depicts a soldier of the East Surrey Regiment, dressing his own wounded arm; the other a woman holding a child in her left arm and a letter in her outstretched right hand: her distress is evident, and "[w]e must presume that the news of her husband's perhaps fatal wounds has just reached her".[1][3][4] The figure of the soldier was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1921.[3]

The cenotaph's inscription reads:[2]


1914 ⋅ 1918
1939 ⋅ 1945

AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE

WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN
WARS AND CONFLICTS SINCE

A TRIBUTE TO THE MEN
AND WOMEN OF CROYDON

WHO DIED AND SUFFERED

The dates "1939 ⋅ 1945" were added after the end of the Second World War. The lines "AND IN MEMORY ... SINCE" were added in 1997.[2]

The cenotaph was granted Grade II listed status on 19 November 1973, both in its own right[2][3] and as part of a group of municipal buildings, legally protecting it from unauthorised modification or demolition.[2][5] Its status was upgraded to Grade II* on 27 July 2017.[3]

A roll of honour is kept in the library.[1]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Croydon War Memorial.
  1. 1 2 3 "Croydon Cenotaph – War Memorials Online". Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "War Memorial: Croydon Cenotaph (WMR-2098)". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "Croydon War Memorial (Grade II*) (1268438)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Borg, Alan (1991). War Memorials: from antiquity to the present. London: Leo Cooper. p. 97. ISBN 9780850523638.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Municipal Buildings, comprising the clock tower, public library, and Corn Exchange, and including the area balustrade which incorporates a war memorial and a statue of Queen Victoria (Grade II) (1188798)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
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