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Kennington

Kennington Garden of Remembrance is a grassy area surrounded by trees. It contains a timber shelter made from oak with cedar shingle roof. The sides of the shelter are open, the lower half comprised of a balustrade around three sides on a base made of bricks.

The Garden of Remembrance is located in Ulley Road, Kennington, Ashford, Kent.

The Kennington memorial shelter has been the recipient of a number of grants. The first, in 2009, was to address the shingles on the roof, which had become rotten and loose, the replacement of missing spindles from the balustrade missing and the removal of graffiti which had been sprayed onto the beam at the front. Fortunately, the original drawings for the shelter had been found in a local archive and so repairs could be undertaken in an accurate way. Grants for War Memorials gave a grant of £4,296 for these elements. The ridge of the roof had lead laid down as part of the original grant. Unfortunately this was subsequently stolen leading to a further grant of £337 from the Small Grants Scheme for its replacement in 2010. Unfortunately, war memorials like other historic buildings can be prime targets for theft of metals which have a scrap value. Although precautions were taken in this case to try and avoid the theft, they were unsuccessful. Therefore, in the circumstance it was deemed appropriate for the removal of the remaining lead and the fixing of Western Red cedar shingles to the hip and ridge of the shelter to match the existing shingles on the memorial.

A third grant was awarded to the Kennington memorial shelter by the Grants for War Memorials scheme in 2011. This third grant was towards the second stage of the original project and included reinstatement of the missing balustrade and the internal bench seating. Again this work was informed by the original plans which had been found.

The Garden of Remembrance was unveiled on 17th November 1950. The inscription “1939-1945” is carved onto one of the beams of the shelter and over the gate to the garden. It was designed to commemorate the 22 people of Kennignton who lost their lives in the Second World War. The shelter design echoes that of the lychgate at nearby St Mary’s Church which dates from 1893. The original designer of the shelter is not known.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM2687
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 16332

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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