There are 20 Grade I listed war memorials in England, out of over 3,000 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 legal protection against demolition or modification, which requires permission from the local planning authority. Listed buildings are divided into three categories—grade I, grade II*, and grade II—which reflect the relative significance of the structure and may be a factor in planning decisions. Grade II accounts for 92% of listed buildings, while grade II* is an intermediate grade accounting for 5.5%; grade I holds the remaining 2.5% of listed buildings and is reserved for structures of exceptional significance. Grade I listed war memorials are deliberately very few, though several have been upgraded to grade I status as part of commemorations around the First World War centenary. A war memorial listed at grade I will be of exceptional interest for its design and artistic merit and will be of great historical interest. Such memorials are often the work of famous architects or sculptors, amongst the most prolific of whom was Sir Edwin Lutyens, whose memorials account for a third of all those listed at grade I. Lutyens designed dozens of war memorials across the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, including the Cenotaph in London—the focus for the national Remembrance Sunday services—and the Arch of Remembrance in Leicester—the largest of Lutyens' war memorials in Britain; both are listed at grade I.Skelton, pp. 65–67. As part of the commemorations of the centenary of the First World War, Historic England—the government body responsible for listing in England—is running a project with the aim of significantly increasing the number of war memorials on the National Heritage List for England.

This list includes only memorials that are grade I listed buildings in their own right. Memorials which are not free-standing—such as a plaque on a church wall—or which form part of the curtilage of a listed building—such as a sculpture within a building—but do not have their own entry on the National Heritage List for England are not included. For example, this list does not include the grade I listed Hall of Memory, Birmingham or Winchester College War Cloister.

War memorials in England take a wide variety of forms and commemorate centuries of conflicts, though memorials to conflicts and the soldiers who fought in them—rather than exclusively commemorating victorious commanders—only started to be commonplace after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, which ended the Napoleonic Wars. The aftermath of the First World War (1914–1918) produced significantly more memorials than any other single conflict; thus this list is dominated by First World War memorials, many of which were later re-dedicated or added to reflect losses from the Second World War (1939–1945). Unusually, Southampton Cenotaph was rededicated to the dead from multiple conflicts later in the 20th century.Corke, pp. 4–9.

Memorials Name ID Image Location Conflict Architect or sculptor Type Inauguration date Listing date Port Sunlight War Memorial 1343491 Port Sunlight, Merseyside Sculptures and cross 1921 Rochdale Cenotaph 1084274 Rochdale, Greater Manchester Cenotaph 1921 The Arch of Remembrance 1074786 Leicester, Leicestershire Memorial arch 1925 Liverpool Cenotaph 1073463 Liverpool, Merseyside , Cenotaph 1930 Southampton Cenotaph 1340007 Southampton, Hampshire Cenotaph 1920 The Cenotaph 1357354 Cenotaph 1920 The Mercantile Marine First World War Memorial 1260087 Miscellaneous 1928 Royal Artillery Memorial 1231613 Sculpture 1926 Guards Memorial 1231315 Cenotaph with sculptures 1926 Spalding War Memorial 1064002 Spalding, Lincolnshire Miscellaneous 1922 "The Response" 1186201 Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear Sculpture 1923 Northampton War Memorial 1191327 Northampton, Northamptonshire Obelisk pair and Stone of Remembrance 1926 Chatham Naval Memorial 1267787 Chatham, Kent Obelisk 1924 Plymouth Naval Memorial 1386464 Plymouth, Devon Obelisk 1924 Portsmouth Naval Memorial 1386975 Portsmouth, Hampshire Obelisk 1924 Preston Cenotaph 1218458 Preston, Lancashire Cenotaph 1926 Wagoners' Memorial 1161354 Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire Column 1920 Edith Cavell Memorial 1264768 St. Martin's Place, London, WC2 Pylon with statue 1920 Eleanor Cross, Sledmere 1083806 Sledmere, East Riding of Yorkshire Cross 1920 Statue of Captain Albert Ball, Nottingham Castle 1246929 Nottingham Castle Gardens, Nottingham Statue 1921

See also

Grade II* listed war memorials in England

Notes

References