Miserden War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the village of

Miserden Miserden is a village and civil parish in Stroud District, Gloucestershire, England, 4 miles north east of Stroud. The parish includes Whiteway Colony and the hamlets of Sudgrove and The Camp. In the 2001 census the parish had a populatio ...

, near Stroud, in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, south-western England. The memorial, designed by

Sir Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

, is today 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 ...

Background

In the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and its unprecedented casualties, thousands of war memorials were built across Britain. Amongst the most prominent designers of memorials was the architect

, described by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as "the leading English architect of his generation". Lutyens designed

the Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

in London, which became the focus for the national

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

commemorations, as well as the

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...

—the largest British war memorial anywhere in the world—and the Stone of Remembrance which appears in all large

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

cemeteries and in several of Lutyens's civic war memorials. Miserden's is one of fifteen War Crosses by Lutyens, all sharing a similar design. Many of Lutyens' commissions for war memorials originated from friends and previous clients. His commission for Miserden's memorial appears to have come through local landowner Noel Wills for whom Lutyens carried out work at nearby Misarden Park after it was severely damaged by a fire in 1919.

History and design

The memorial stands opposite the village church. It is a typical Lutyens War Cross with a tapering shaft and short arms, of limestone construction. The cross sits on an unusually large plinth of three rectangular stone blocks which itself sits on a small square base. Unusually among war crosses, the names of the fallen are inscribed on the lowest section of the plinth in bronze lettering. The second stage of the plinth contains the memorial's dedication: "TO THE MEMORY OF OUR GLORIOUS DEAD 1914–1919". Above, on the top section of the plinth, the dates of the Second World War and the names of the village's fallen from that conflict were added at a later date. From the markings "VH 1920" on the back, it is believed that Victor Hayward, the stonemason on the Misarden Park estate constructed the memorial. Details of the unveiling ceremony are unknown, but it likely took place in 1920. Miserden War Memorial was designated a grade II

on 25 August 1960. In March 2015, as part of commemorations for the centenary of the First World War, Lutyens' war memorials were recognised as a "national collection" and all of his free-standing memorials in England were listed or had their listing status reviewed and their

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

list entries were updated and expanded.

References

* {{reflist World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Monuments and memorials in Gloucestershire Grade II listed buildings in Gloucestershire Grade II listed monuments and memorials Works of Edwin Lutyens in England War memorials by Edwin Lutyens Military history of Gloucestershire

Background

History and design

See also

References