Summary

First World War memorial by Sir George James Frampton RA (1860-1928), with dates added for the Second World War and inscription remembering later conflicts, unveiled 21 June 1922.

Description

MATERIALS: Limestone plinth and base with bronze figure.

The memorial stands at the fork of two main roads which lead out of Maidstone to the west. It takes the form of a bronze statue of St George and the slain dragon on a tall cenotaph-like limestone plinth and base. The memorial is surrounded by a low stone wall. St George stands in full armour with the dragon at his feet, his left foot resting on its body. He holds an erect lance in his right hand, from which flies a pennon. In his left hand he holds a shaped shield, the bottom of which is also resting on the dragon's body.

The front face of the memorial bears the inscription:
IN HONOUR OF / OUR GLORIOUS DEAD / WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN / THE GREAT WAR / FOR EVER HONOURED / AND / FOR EVER MOURNED / 1914 1918 / 1939 1945 / AND / IN LATER CONFLICTS

There is a further short inscription to the rear. To either side of the plinth a wreath is carved in relief.

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, 30 November 2016.

History

Maidstone Borough war memorial was erected to honour the servicemen of Maidstone who fell during the First World War. The memorial was unveiled by Lt Col FSW Cornwallis.

Sir George Frampton studied at the Royal Academy Schools, London, and in Paris, and received many awards and honours throughout his career. Perhaps his best-known work is the statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Greater London, 1920 (listed Grade II*).

Reasons for Listing

Maidstone Borough war memorial, by Sir George Frampton, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by this community in the First and Second World Wars (and later conflicts), it is of strong historic and cultural significance both at a local and a national level.
* Artistic interest: by a sculptor of considerable renown, it is a handsome and fitting commemorative monument of high artistic quality.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675478

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

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)