Men of Pembury War Memorial

Hastings Road, Near junction with Chalket Lane, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4PD

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1465121
Date first listed:: 07-Aug-2019
List Entry Name:: Men of Pembury War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Hastings Road, Near junction with Chalket Lane, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4PD

User submitted image — Uploaded by Stephen J Davis This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1465121
Date first listed:: 07-Aug-2019
List Entry Name:: Men of Pembury War Memorial
Location Description:: Hastings Road, Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 4PA

Approximately 20 metres east of Chalket Lane, on the southern side of Hastings Road.
Statutory Address 1:: Hastings Road, Near junction with Chalket Lane, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4PD

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Hastings Road, Near junction with Chalket Lane, Pembury, Kent, TN2 4PD

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Kent
District:: Tunbridge Wells (District Authority)
Parish:: Pembury
National Grid Reference:: TQ6258140712

Summary

War Memorial formed of limestone. It consists of a large square platform with four steps and a plinth surmounted by a cenotaph in the form of a pylon with a gabled cornice and Celtic wheel cross.

Reasons for Designation

The Men of Pembury War Memorial which stands adjacent to the main road through Pembury and near to the village green and church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as an elegantly-proportioned memorial.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. The war memorial to the men of Pembury was erected near to the village green and church. It was unveiled and dedicated on 25 September 1921 by Reverend H Sinclair Brooke. The memorial was designed by architect Ashley S Kilby Esq.

It commemorates 49 local servicemen who died during the First World War. In 1949 a dedication was added to commemorate the 18 local servicemen who died during the Second World War.

In 2014 a grey granite plaque was placed in front of the memorial in relation to the centenary of the First World War. It has an engraved wreath and poppies at the centre and reads on the left hand side HONOURING/ THE MEN OF/ PEMBURY and on the right 1914 – 1918/ WITH PRIDE/ 2014.

The present two limestone plaques on the north front, facing the road, are replacements which were unveiled on 11 November 2018 with eight spelling corrections. The original brass plaques are to be installed outside Pembury School.

Details

A limestone cenotaph, unveiled in 1921 and altered in 1949, located on Hastings Road, Pembury, situated close to the village green and Church of St Peter (Grade II*). The plinth is edged by low hedging and soft planting.

MATERIALS & PLAN: the monument is formed of limestone, and consists of a large square platform approached by four steps on its northern side. The central plinth is surmounted by a cenotaph in the form of a pylon. The top of this is punctuated by a gabled cornice detail on the northern side, with the cornice running around the pylon. A Celtic wheel cross, carved in relief, sits underneath the gabled cornice.

The top of the pylon bears the inscription '1914 - 1919' in inset lead lettering. The raised panel has the inscription 'DUTY HONOUR SELF-SACRIFICE' under which is a stone plaque commemorating those who fell in the First World War. Under this is inscribed '1939 - 1945', and below this is a second stone plaque commemorating those who fell in the Second World War. The sides and rear of the monument are bare.

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museum - Pembury - WW1 and WW2 , accessed 13 June 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1537
War Memorials Online - Men of Pembury , accessed 13 June 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120993
Other
‘Notes on News’, Kent and Sussex Courier, (30 September 1921), 7

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.