SX4753 : Plymouth Naval Memorial
taken 8 years ago, near to Plymouth, England
The Plymouth Naval Memorial is a war memorial located on Plymouth Hoe to British and Commonwealth sailors who were lost in the World Wars. It was Grade II* listed, but in May 2016 it was upgraded to Grade I listed. Link
After World War I, the Royal Navy wanted to find a way to commemorate sailors who had died at sea and had no known grave. An Admiralty committee recommended building memorials at the three main naval ports in Great Britain -- Plymouth, Chatham,TQ7667 : Chatham Naval Memorial, TQ7667 : Chatham Naval Memorial Link . and Portsmouth SZ6398 : Royal Navy War Memorial Link]. The memorials at all three sites were designed by Sir Robert Lorimer with sculpture by Henry Poole.
Following World War II, the naval memorials were expanded to commemorate the dead from that war. Sir Edward Maufe performed the architectural design for the expansion at Plymouth, and the sculpture was by Charles Wheeler and William McMillan.
The Plymouth memorial also bears the names of sailors from Australia, South Africa, and India. The Plymouth Naval Memorial commemorates 7,251 sailors of World War I and 15,933 of World War II.
Listed buildings and structures are officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are over half a million listed structures in the United Kingdom, covered by around 375,000 listings.
Listed status is more commonly associated with buildings or groups of buildings, however it can cover many other structures, including bridges, headstones, steps, ponds, monuments, walls, phone boxes, wrecks, parks, and heritage sites, and in more recent times a road crossing (Abbey Road) and graffiti art (Banksy 'Spy-booth') have been included.
In England and Wales there are three main listing designations;
Grade I (2.5%) - exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* (5.5%) - particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II (92%) - nationally important and of special interest.
There are also locally listed structures (at the discretion of local authorities) using A, B and C designations.
In Scotland three classifications are also used but the criteria are different. There are around 47,500 Listed buildings.
Category A (8%)- generally equivalent to Grade I and II* in England and Wales
Category B (51%)- this appears generally to cover the ground of Grade II, recognising national importance.
Category C (41%)- buildings of local importance, probably with some overlap with English Grade II.
In Northern Ireland the criteria are similar to Scotland, but the classifications are:
Grade A (2.3%)
Grade B+ (4.7%)
Grade B (93%)
Read more at Wikipedia Link
War memorials were mainly constructed after WWI to commemorate the troops who gave their lives in the war. Many were then updated after WWII. Some war memorials date back to the Boer War. Almost every town and village in Britain has a War Memorial. They take many forms, the commonest being an obelisk, a cross or statue of a soldier. Some commemorate the inhabitants of a place, some are for schools and others are for companies or Military groupings.
Many memorials are grade II listed, 61 are II* listed, Link*_listed_war_memorials_in_England
& 12 are Grade I listed. Link
A search for memorials can be carried out at Link
Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe or Hoe park is a large south facing open public space in Plymouth. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and it commands views of Plymouth Sound, Drake's Island, and across the Hamoaze to Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Hoe, a sloping ridge shaped like an inverted foot and heel.
Wikipedia: Link