Dorking War Memorial

Heritage listing

Details 850/0/10042 SOUTH STREET Dorking War Memorial 27-FEB-08 GV II War Memorial, erected in 1921, extended after 1945. Designed by Thomas Braddock. Portland stone ashlar. The memorial is on a raised platform set against a wall retaining an upper road. It takes the form of an aedicule, with plain pilasters, a moulded cornice and triangular pediment with central cartouche. Three slightly recessed panels are inscribed with the names of the fallen, above which in large capital letters are engraved the words "IN MEMORY OF DORKING MEN WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR". The plinth bears a smaller inscription: "They were a wall unto us both by night and by day 1 Sam XXV 16". The pilasters each have roundels bearing the dates 1914 and 1919. Attached to either side of the main 1914-1919 memorial are low splayed projections in the form of pedestals, the inner-facing panels of which display the names of those who died in the Second World War. At the end of each respectively are the dates 1939 and 1945, each circled by a wreath. There are two flagpoles attached to the retaining wall on either side of the earlier memorial, which are part of the original design. SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The spotlights attached above the cornice are modern additions and not of special architectural or historical interest. HISTORY: The war memorial was unveiled in 1921 to commemorate the men of Dorking who had lost their lives in the Great War. An inscription records that the architect was Thomas Braddock, who had won a competition to design the memorial. Braddock, MP for Mitcham between 1945 and 1950, is better known for his political career, although he was also part of the team that designed cinemas in London for the Odeon chain, including Leicester Square. The memorial originally seems to have incorporated

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.