Approximate Location Map
Large Map »
Latitude: 51.4245 / 51°25'28"N
Longitude: -0.1772 / 0°10'37"W
OS Eastings: 526828
OS Northings: 171076
OS Grid: TQ268710
Mapcode National: GBR D9.201
Mapcode Global: VHGRB.WG5B
Plus Code: 9C3XCRFF+R4
Entry Name: Lambeth Civilian War Memorial
Listing Date: 8 February 2019
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1462018
ID on this website: 101462018
Location: Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting Graveney, Wandsworth, London, SW17
County: London
District: Wandsworth
Electoral Ward/Division: Colliers Wood
Parish: Non Civil Parish
Built-Up Area: Merton
Traditional County: Surrey
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Greater London
Tagged with: War memorial
Civilian war memorial, erected in 1952. Restored circa 2008.
Civilian war memorial, 1952. Restored circa 2008.
MATERIALS: Portland stone. The original cast bronze plaques with raised lettering made by H H Martins were replaced by resin copies circa 2008.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial consists of a stepped stone wall, facing north-west, curved inwards and terminating in two piers with shallow pyramidal caps. The central raised section holds a carved panel with the Lambeth coat of arms. The motto beneath reads ‘SPECTEMUR AGENDO’ (‘let us be judged by our conduct’). The bronze plaque beneath reads: ‘1939/1945 / IN MEMORY / of / THOSE CITIZENS OF LAMBETH / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN / THE AERIAL BOMBARDMENT / OF LONDON DURING THE / SECOND WORLD WAR / AND WERE LAID TO REST BENEATH THIS SPOT. / They died that the spirit of freedom / might live.’ To either side three plaques are set horizontally, bearing the names of those lost.
To the north-west, the wall encloses a low semi-circular dais at the centre of which is a symbolic chest tomb with an angled cross resting on it. Long planters extend to either side of the tomb. There are two wide shallow steps in front of the tomb, and narrower steps at either end leading to a path in front of the wall, from which the plaques can be viewed. The dais is completed by segmental grassed areas, bounded by a stone kerb, forming part of the memorial.
The memorial commemorates civilians killed by aerial bombardment in Lambeth during the Second World War. The memorial bears about 360 names, and its inscription suggests that the names are those of people buried in a mass grave at the site of the memorial. It is thought that altogether some 1646 Lambeth civilians were killed during the Second World War. Lambeth’s greatest loss of life took place in Kennington Park in October 1940, when 104 people were killed by a direct hit to a trench shelter. The Lambeth Civilian War Memorial was erected and unveiled in 1952. In circa 2008 it was restored, and the bronze plaques replaced with resin copies.
The memorial is set at the south-east corner of Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The cemetery opened in 1854, and has unlisted Gothic lodges and chapels of that date by F. K. Wehnert and J. Ashdown. The south-west corner of the cemetery contains war memorials to those who fought in the First and Second World Wars, as well as Commonwealth burials of both conflicts.
The Lambeth Civilian War Memorial in Lambeth Cemetery, Tooting, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as a dignified and poignant testament to the impact of Second World War bombing on the community of Lambeth;
Architectural interest:
* for its striking and spacious design, combining a wall for contemplating the names of the fallen with a sculptural element in the form of the symbolic chest tomb, and a landscape element in the form of enclosed grassed areas.
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.
Other nearby listed buildings