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New Barnet
Town or City: New Barnet
County: Greater London
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM2770
Value of grant: £7240.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: Grants for War Memorials (Eng)
Year: 2021
UKNIWM reference number: 47170
New Barnet (East Barnet Valley) war memorial is a tall Portland stone column, on a three-stepped base, topped by a bronze Winged victory standing on a globe supported by fish. The western panel has a carving of a lion atop an eagle. It is located in the triangle at the junction of Station Road and Lyonsdown Road. The memorial is Grade II listed.
In 2021, a grant of £7,240 was awarded through the Grants for War Memorial scheme, supported by Historic England. It assisted repair and conservation works which included gentle cleaning of the stone work using steam, re-pointing the joints in the memorial and steps. Cleaning the relief stone carvings were not permitted to avoid over-cleaning which could result in loss of detail as they were not discoloured. Brickwork repairs were separately undertaken to reinstate the retaining triangular wall around the perimeter of the memorial. SmartWater was also applied to the war memorial as part of the In Memoriam 2014 project seeking to deter the theft of metal from war memorials.
The memorial was unveiled on 20th March 1921 by Viscount Hampden GCVO, KCB, CMG, the Lord Lieutenant of Herfordshire, and commanding officer of the 1st Battalion the Herfordshire Regiment in the war; subsequently Brigadier-General 185th Bridgade. It cost £900, largely paid for by public subscription. The memorial was designed by Newbury Abbot Trent who designed a number of war memorials across the UK. The memorial at Wallsend follows a similar design (WMO/168166).
The memorial records the names of 277 and 1 woman who died during World War I and 136 men who died during World War II. Amy Alice Vitoria Goldsmith died on 5th March 1919, aged 32 years, while serving as a staff nurse of the Territorial Force Nursing Service. The carving of the lion and eagle symbolises the victory of the British lion over the German eagle.
The inscription on the memorial comes from Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’ and reads:
"At the going
down of the
sun and in the
morning we will
remember them
1914-1918
1939-1945"
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM2770
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 47170
WMO/77757
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org
