Memorials

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The Monument

The Monument (note the definite article), designed by Sir Christopher Wren and Dr Robert Hooke, commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 which destroyed most of the medieval City of London. The fire began in Pudding Lane, less than a stone's throw away.  The column is 202 feet high and there are 311 leg-busting steps to the top; great views, though!

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Fish Street Hill
County
London
Post Code
EC3R 8AH
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
North end of London Bridge, Monument tube station
Primary Management
Local Authority
NASEBY BATTLEFIELD

The Battle of Naseby on 14 June 1645 was one of the most important in British history, ranking alongside Hastings and Bosworth. The outcome of the battle was the defeat and virtual annihilation of King Charles I's Royalist army by the Parliamentary forces led by Fairfax and Cromwell, resulting in Parliament's victory in the Civil War and ultimately fundamentally changing the way Britain was governed.

The battle site is just north of the village of Naseby and is largely undeveloped since the 17th century. It can be viewed from various points, including Cromwell's monument, Sulby viewing platform and the Obelisk monument. Various information panels have been placed around the site and guided walks are available. A map is essential.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Naseby
County
Northamptonshire
Post Code
NN6 6BS
Main Historic Period
Stuart
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Bosworth isn't far...
Primary Management
Other
NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARBORETUM

The National Memorial Arboretum is a centre of remembrance for the fallen - members of the armed forces, civilian services and ordinary people.  It is set in 150 acres of reclaimed gravel pits between the rivers Trent and Tarne.  There is an astonishing variety of memorials - 320 of them at the last count - to every conceivable group you can imagine - surrounded by 30,000 trees.  It is both impressive and humbling.

The NMA is managed by the Royal British Legion.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Croxall Road
Alrewas
County
Staffordshire
Post Code
DE13 7AR
Main Historic Period
Modern
Primary Management
Other
NATIONAL WALLACE MONUMENT

The National Wallace Monument is a large Victorian tower, in baronial/medieval style, built high on a prominent hill, to commemorate the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace (c1270 - 1305), who led resistance against the English during the Scottish Wars of Independence before being betrayed, captured and taken to London, where he was executed. The Monument opened in 1869 and includes 3 exhibition chambers telling the story of Wallace, his victory at nearby Stirling Bridge in 1297, and the building of the monument. There are 246 steps to the top of the monument, from which there are stunning views of Stirling, the castle and surrounding countryside.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Abbey Craig
Hillfoots Road
Causewayhead
Stirling
County
Stirlingshire
Post Code
FK9 5LF
Main Historic Period
Victorian
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Stirling Castle
Primary Management
Other
Peter Pan

The Scottish author J M Barrie erected a statue to his creation in Kensington Gardens in 1912, on the spot near the Long Water, where Peter landed having flown out of his nursery.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Kensington
County
London
Post Code
W2 2UH
Main Historic Period
Modern
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Post code is very approximate. Use a map and explore Kensington Gardens
Primary Management
Royal Parks
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL

On the seafront and overlooking Southsea common, Portsmouth Naval Memorial commemorates nearly 10,000 British and Commonwealth sailors of the First World War and almost 15,000 of the Second World War, whose only grave is the sea. After WW1, the Admiralty recommended that the three great Royal Navy ports of Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth should each have an identical memorial of unmistakable naval form, an obelisk, which would serve as a leading mark for shipping. Portsmouth's memorial was unveiled by the Duke of York, later King George VI, on 15 October 1924. The Second World War extension was unveiled by his widow, the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on 29 April 1953.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Clarence Esplanade
Southsea
Portsmouth
County
Hampshire
Post Code
PO5 3NT
Main Historic Period
Modern
Link to featured article
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Royal Garrison Church, Portsmouth Dockyard
Primary Management
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Postman's Park

Postman's Park opened in 1880 on the site of the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph's Aldersgate. It was popular with workers from the old General Post Office nearby - hence its name - and is home to the unusual Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice. G F Watts (1817-1904) was a painter and philanthropist who proposed a park commemorating 'heroic men and women' who had given their lives attempting to save others. The result is an installation at the park consisting of glazed tablets containing bare information about dramatic acts in which ordinary people - men, women and children - perished trying to save others.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
King Edward Street
County
London
Post Code
EC1A 7BT
Main Historic Period
Edwardian
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
St Paul's tube station
Primary Management
Local Authority
QUAKER GARDENS, Islington

Also known as Quaker Garden Bunhill Fields, this is the remaining portion of a Quaker (Society of Friends) burial ground, in use between 1661 and 1855 and containing some 12,000 unmarked burials, including that of the Society's Founder, George Fox (1624-1691). Reduced by development, the area is now a garden, with a playground attached, and adjacent to a Quaker Meeting House - the remains of buildings destroyed by bombing. The garden is maintained by the London Borough of Islington, whose website wasn't feeling well when this record was created.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Quaker Gardens Walk
Islington
County
London
Post Code
EC1Y 8QQ
Main Historic Period
Georgian
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, John Wesley's House and Museum
Primary Management
Local Authority
RUFUS STONE

Iron-clad (originally stone) memorial commemorating the alleged spot where King William II ("Rufus") was killed by an arrow, allegedly by accident, in 1100.

You must be on the A31 eastbound - it is a small turning between Stoney Cross and Cadnum. There is some parking. Post code is approximate.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Eastbound A31
County
Hampshire
Post Code
SO43 7HD
Main Historic Period
Medieval
Link to featured article
Tip/Nearby
It's in the New Forest National Park
Primary Management
National Park
RUNNYMEDE AIR FORCES MEMORIAL

The air forces memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force.

The memorial is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), from whose website the above information has been taken.

Region/Nation
Location/Address
Cooper's Hill Lane
Englefield Green
County
Surrey
Post Code
TW20 0LB
Main Historic Period
Modern
Useful Website Address
Tip/Nearby
Magna Carta and JFK memorials
Primary Management
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

If your favourite attraction is not listed yet, and you have a good quality digital photograph of it that you are able to freely send, please get in touch

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