Description

ROYAL AVENUE
656-1/30/142 War Memorial

GV II

War memorial. 1923. By Sir Reginald Blomfield.
MATERIALS: Portland limestone ashlar to cross, Bath limestone ashlar to steps and memorial. Tall central cross `Cross of Sacrifice' on octagonal plinth of diminishing tiers, carrying a bronze sword set into the front face. The front of the plinth bears the inscription 'STAY AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO DIED FOR YOU'. Behind the cross are two flights of steps leading to a paved platform, in front of which are Roman style bronze railings: the finials consist of seated lions based on Alfred Stevens's similar figures designed for the Duke of Wellington monument in St Paul's Cathedral. Behind is a semi-circular screen wall stepped up to the centre. This carries a bronze shield with the City arms, and a scrolled inscription either side, reading `THEY DIED FOR US. MEN OF BATH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918¿. Beneath, in centre of curved wall, are five bronze panels carrying names of the men of Bath who fell in the First World War; beneath are five smaller tablets (recently added) with the names of the Second World War dead. Their names (together with the names of Bath's civilian dead) were originally recorded only in Books of Remembrance, kept in the Abbey and in St John's R.C. Church. Smaller bronze panels flanking the lists of WW1 dead commemorate the sacrifices made in WW2 by Civil Defence, Special Constabulary and civilians. Either side of the screen wall are piers with rusticated sides and embellished with wreaths. Further modern tablets have been added recently, listing the name of a soldier killed in conflicts since 1945 (to left) and the name of a WW1 casualty omitted from the original roll call (to right).
HISTORY: Blomfield was one of Principal Architects for Imperial War Graves Commission. His Cross of Sacrifice design, erected at many IWGC cemeteries across the world and which forms the centre-piece here, was also used at other concentrations of military burials in Bath, including Haycombe Cemetery and Locksbrook Cemetery (qv). This war memorial was designed to form a group with the Rivers Gate leading into Royal Victoria Park [q.v.], which underwent modernisation at the same time.

Listing NGR: ST7471665099

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 15 December 2016.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26673787

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings