Hatfield War Memorial

The Hatfield War Memorial is a war memorial beside the Great North Road in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It was one of 24 war memorials in England designed by Sir Herbert Baker, that were designated as a national collection by Historic England in 2017. The memorial is located near the gates of Hatfield House, and close to Hatfield railway station. It was unveiled in 1921, to commemorate 139 men from Hatfield killed on service during the First World War. A brick pavilion records the names of the dead, with further names added after the Second World War. The memorial comprises a Portland stone memorial cross, standing within a garden surrounded by brick walls to the north, west and south sides, and a yew hedge to the east, with an entrance gate in the wall to the south. Portland stone tablets with dedications listing the names of the dead are located in a brick shelter pavilion to the north side of the garden. The memorial cross is a typical Baker design, with an octagonal cross section, standing on an octagonal base. Baker had proposed a similar design of memorial cross to the Imperial War Graves Commission (now Commonwealth War Graves Commission), but a different design by Sir Reginald Blomfield was selected instead: the Cross of Sacrifice familiar at many CWGC cemeteries. Baker used versions of his cross in many of the municipal war memorials that he was commissioned to design after the First World War. He was also responsible for the design of 113 cemeteries on the Western Front, including Tyne Cot, Delville Wood South African National Memorial and Neuve-Chapelle Indian Memorial. The central wheel-headed Latin cross is decorated with roses and lilies representing England and France. It stands on an octagonal shaft and simple octagonal plinth, surrounded by a small octagonal pavement, in the centre of a grass lawn. A rectangular pavilion constructed of red brick stands to the north side of the garden, with three round-headed arches facing towards the cross in the…