Other War Memorials of Ashwell in Hertfordshire

Ashwell’s war memorial stands east of the main village, at the junction of Station Road with Lucas Lane, at the corner of the Ashwell recreation ground. It comprises a Lutyens War Cross in Portland stone which is set on a square podium which itself stands on two circular steps rather than the usual three. The memorial, the ground to the front retained by a retaining kerb, is approached by a flight of six steps, contemporary with, and integral to, the memorial.

Ashwell's WW1 memorial 1921, by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Ashwell’s war memorial committee was set up in 1919 under the chairmanship of Wolverley Attwood Fordham, a local brewer, with his wife Phyllis as secretary. It invited proposals from Sir Reginald Blomfield (who submitted a design for a cross), Sir Edwin Lutyens (a cross, obelisk or Stone of Remembrance) and Tappers, a local builder (a cenotaph). The Lutyens cross was preferred and was endorsed following a public meeting in January 1920. The Ashwell War Memorial is one of only two Parish war memorials in England designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The cross was built by Messrs Holland, Hannen and Cubitt Ltd, the contractors for the Cenotaph in Whitehall. It was unveiled by Lord Hampden, the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, on 4 December 1921. The cost was £557 with Lutyens being paid a fee of £42 19s 10d.

Ashwell war memorial is listed at Grade II for the following reasons:

• Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the First World War;
• Architect: by the nationally renowned architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944), who designed 58 extant memorials at home and abroad including the Cenotaph in Whitehall;
• Design: a simple yet elegant War Cross, with the unusual feature of a two-stepped circular base rather than three. [1]

Front Panels (East):

In honour of the men of

Ashwell who fought in the

Great War and in loving

memory of those who fell

our glorious dead

Arthur Day	Albert A. Kirchin
Henry I. Dellar	Bruce Law
Julius Everden	Thomas Lee
William D. Eversden	George Longland
Percy Farr	Harry Loveday
Arthur G. Gentle	Herbert G. P. Maddams
John W. Goodwin	Albert E. Mole
Frank Harradine	John C. Noyes
Albert C. Hyder	Walter Picking
Tom Hyder	Frank Potton

their name liveth
for evermore

[The names of those who fell in the Second World War are inscribed on the podium.]

1939-1945

William Bean	Richard A Raikes	Stanley A. Marshall
Anthony Hill D.S.O. D.F.C.		George A. Page
James Law		William Pettingell
Kenneth Marsden		Douglas Waldock

Left Panel (South):

	1914
	Frederick Anns
	Albert Amtman
	Montague S. Austin
	George Bryant
	Harvey Bryant M.C.
	Percy A.W. Bullimore
	Edward Camp
	Stanley Camp
	Herbert Covington
	Lewis Daniels
	H. G. Waldock Died Aug 23rd 1923

Right Panel (North):

	1919
	James Revels
	Percy Revels
	Bertie Sheldrick
	John Sheldrick
	Harry Smith
	Herbert Smith
	Oben Strickland
	Harry W. G. Waldock
	Percy C. Wilkins
	John C. Winter
	Arthur Worboys

Ashwell United Reform Church was built in 1852 as the Congregational Church, replacing an earlier building destroyed by fire in 1850. [2]

Ashwell United Reform Church

Its churchyard contains a single CWGC grave and headstone for Private Herbert Covington also mentioned on the Left Panel (South) of the memorial above.

CWGC Headstone for Private Herbert Covington,
United Reform Church, Ashwell, Hertfordshire

Covington, Herbert
Rank: Private
Service No: 26534
Date of Death: 05/09/1920
Age: 39
Regiment/Service: King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) 9th Bn.
Grave Reference: Near North-East corner of Chapelyard.
Cemetery: Ashwell United Reform Church
Additional Information: Son of Mrs. Emily Covington, of Mill St., Ashwell. [3]


[1] Historic England (http://www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1175188)
[2] Hertfordshire Churches in Photographs (https://hertfordshirechurches.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/united-reformed-church-high-street-ashwell/)
[3] GWGC Records (http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/364400/COVINGTON,%20HERBERT)