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Monument details
| HER Number: | TQ 57 SW 1091 |
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| Type of record: | Listed Building |
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| Name: | War Memorial in the churchyard of St Alban's Church |
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Summary
War memorial. Erected in 1920 by Messrs G Maile and Son Ltd
| Grid Reference: | TQ 5492 7410 |
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| Map Sheet: | TQ57SW |
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| Parish: | DARTFORD, DARTFORD, KENT |
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Monument Types
Full description
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The text below is from the original listed building record:
"Summary of Building
War memorial. Erected in 1920 by Messrs G Maile and Son Ltd.
Reasons for Designation
The war memorial in the church yard of St Alban's, Dartford, unveiled in 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20; * Architectural interest: as a sombre and dignified memorial, relatively unusual for a parish memorial in not bearing the names of the fallen.
History
The memorial, the first to commemorate the fallen of the First World War in Dartford, was designed by Messrs G Maile and Son Ltd of 357 and 367 Euston Road, London, a company specialising in granite funerary monuments and which erected a large number of war memorials throughout the country. It was unveiled on 8 December 1920 by HRH The Duke of York. The inscription was subsequently altered to commemorate the Second World War. Originally located on the south side of the church, it was moved to the north-east corner in the late C20.
It was relatively unusual for a parish memorial not to bear the names of the fallen, perhaps in this case for reasons of cost or a wish to respond quickly, since the later town memorial bears around 350 names.
Details
Located at the north-west corner of the church at the junction of St Alban's and Colney Roads, the memorial is in the form of a rough-hewn Celtic cross. It is made of grey Cornish granite, with a curved, boulder-like, plinth standing on a square, two stage base. The lower stage is of Portland stone and is a later addition. The front face of the cross bears a Sword of Sacrifice in relief. The front face of the plinth bears the following inscription: ‘THE/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD/ IN GRATEFUL AND LOVING/ MEMORY OF THE MEN/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914-1919 1939-1945’.
Selected Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Archive - 1479 - St Alban's Church Cross, accessed 15 August 2014 from http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.1479/fromUkniwmSearch/1
National Grid Reference: TQ5492874105"
Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.
Sources and further reading
| Cross-ref.
| Source description | | --- | Index: Historic England. National Heritage List for England. |
