Lewes War Memorial is a war memorial at the top of School Hill in the centre of
Lewes in
East Sussex, prominently sited at the junction of High Street and Market Street. It commemorates 251 men from Lewes who died in the First World War, and 126 who died in the Second World War. It was unveiled in 1922 and became a
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1985.
The memorial was designed by the artist
Vernon March. He also designed the Canadian
National War Memorial in Ottawa, the
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in Cape Town, and
Diamond War Memorial
Erected in 1927, the Diamond War Memorial is located on The Diamond in the centre of Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is dedicated to the citizens of the city who lost their lives while in military service during World War I.
Pla ...
in Northern Ireland.
It was constructed in the centre of Lewes, on a site formerly occupied by an ornate lamppost. It comprises a
Portland stone obelisk with bronze statuary. The obelisk stands on a cruciform stone plinth, with steps between the pairs of piers leading up to bronze shields. It is topped by a bronze statue of a winged Victory standing on a globe, facing east towards the fields of Flanders, holding up a laurel wreath. The base features two bronze statues: Liberty seated to the west holding a torch, and Peace seated to the east with a dove on her shoulder. To one side of the figure of Peace is a bronze shield facing south east, inscribed "IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF LEWES / WHO DIED / FOR THEIR COUNTRY / AND FOR MANKIND / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 1918". The three shields between the other piers of the memorial bear 251 names of the fallen from the First World War.
The memorial was unveiled in 1922 by General Sir
Henry Sclater, a local landowner who was also
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief
Southern Command in 1916 to 1919. It was dedicated by the
Bishop of Lewes
The Bishop of Lewes is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Lewes, the county town of East Sussex
East Sussex i ...
,
Henry Southwell.
A quotation from
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
– "
THIS WAS THEIR FINEST HOUR
"This was their finest hour" was a speech delivered by Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom on 18 June 1940, just over a month after he took over as Prime Minister at the head of an all-party coalition government.
It ...
" – was carved into the north face of the obelisk in 1950. The monument was rededicated in 1981, after plaques listing the names of 127 fallen from the Second World War were added to the north and south faces of the plinth, with an additional inscription added to the south face of the obelisk: "LIKEWISE / REMEMBER / THOSE OF / THIS TOWN / WHO GAVE / THEIR LIVES / IN THE WAR / 1939–1945".
It became a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1985, and was promoted to Grade II* in October 2014.
File:Lewes Guy Fawkes Night Celebrations (3) - geograph.org.uk - 1570195.jpg, The memorial during Lewes Bonfire Night festivities
File:High Street, Lewes, East Sussex - geograph.org.uk - 1111774.jpg, Front view
File:Lewes - High Street - geograph.org.uk - 1186572.jpg, Setting at a road junction
File:Lewes High Street war memorial in September 2013 3.JPG, Liberty
File:Lewes High Street war memorial in September 2013 2.JPG, Peace
See also
*
Russian Memorial, Lewes
The Russian Memorial is an obelisk in the churchyard of St John sub Castro in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, England (). It was erected in 1877 at the behest of Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, in memory of 28 Finnish soldiers of the R ...
*
Grade II* listed war memorials in England
There are 137 Grade II* listed war memorials in England, out of over 4,000 listed war memorials. In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a building or structure of special historical or architectural importance; listing offers the building ...
References
First World War Memorials Honoured Historic England, 10 November 2014
Historic EnglandPublic sculptures of Sussex
{{coord, 50.87341, 0.01111, format=dms, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title
Lewes
Buildings and structures in East Sussex
Grade II* listed buildings in East Sussex
Monuments and memorials in East Sussex
World War I memorials in England
World War II memorials in England
1922 sculptures
Sculptures by Vernon March