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Stoneham war shrine
Town or City: Eastley
County: Hampshire
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM2331
Value of grant: £10000.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Restoration
Grant scheme: English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation Grants
Year: 2009
UKNIWM reference number: 58131
The Stoneham war memorial shrine is one of a pair built for John and Violet Willis Fleming in memory of their son Richard Willis Fleming and is located within Avenue Park, North Stoneham. The memorials were constructed of stone from the Fleming quarries and consisted of three separate compartments designed in the Arts and Crafts style. To either side of the open central area were chambers with oak doors. In a statement from John Willis Fleming in December 1917 it is stated that these two compartments were intended for prayer. In the central area was placed an altar and crucifix. Flanking this on either side were placed temporary name plaques commemorating the 37 men from Stoneham who fell during the conflict. These name plaques where replaced by permanent ones in 1920-1 in cast lead. The central area, whilst visibly open, was enclosed by decorative iron gates.
The project was to clean and repair the war memorial shrine and involved installing new timber work, roof, glazing, gates and enclosure railings. All work was based on historic evidence and the form of the Binstead and Havenstreet shrine. The Grants for War Memorials scheme offered a grant of £10,000 against a project cost of £130,000. The project, additionally, had funding awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The project was completed in March 2011 and the repair project had a strong focus on community involvement. Following the completion of the project there are plans to set up a ‘Friends of North Stoneham’ group for the continuing maintenance and management of the shrine.
Richard Willis Fleming was killed in Egypt on 4th August 1916, the day after his twentieth birthday, and is buried in Kantara Cemetery. The second memorial is located on the Isle of Wight, known as the Binstead and Havenstreet shrine, it overlooks the village of Havenstreet.
The Stoneham shrine was dedicated on 28th July 1918. At some point the Stoneham shrine was vandalised and was in a derelict state by 1986 having lost its roof. Only the sides of the buildings remained and the hedge, which had originally been planted around the shrine, had become overgrown almost completely obscuring the shrine from view. It was this condition which led to Eastleigh Borough Council seeking financial help from the Grants for War Memorials scheme in 2009.
A full write up on this case can be found in Bulletin No 51.
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM2331
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 58131
www.northstoneham.org.uk/warshrine/
www.warmemorials.org/uploads/publications/317.pdf
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org