Plaque | War dead | WW1

PRO WW1 memorial

Inscription

1914 - 1919
In honour of the members of the staff of the Public Record Office who died on military service.
{See Subjects commemorated for the list of 7 names.}
Erected by their colleagues.

We don't normally collect memorials inside buildings but this one is rather touching. Austere and classical in style with none of the foliage or flowery language often associated with WW1 memorials. Those responsible for this plaque were archivists, solid matter-of-fact characters, who just wanted to record the names of their colleagues who would not return.

Site: Old Public Record Office - 4 queens (5 memorials)

WC2, Chancery Lane, Maughan Library of King's College, ex-PRO

The first buildings to occupy this site were built in 1232 by Henry III.  The building was known as the Domus Conversorum (the House of Converts) and was intended to provide a refuge for Jews who had converted to Christianity. It provided them with somewhere to live and a Chapel in which to worship, and was run by the Master of the Converts.  In 1377 the office of Master of the Converts was amalgamated with that of Master of the Rolls, and the site was named the Rolls Estate.  The Rolls Chapel was used both for worship and for storing records – the Rolls were the parchment records of the Court of Chancery.  Following the fire in the Palace of Westminster, the Public Record Office was built here, in 1851-8, as a repository for parliamentary records. 

 

The Medieval Chapel was demolished in 1895, with only one arch preserved and mounted on the garden elevation of the Chancery Lane wing, and a new Chapel was built within the configuration of the Public Record Office.  The rescued arch can be seen near the bike shelter but there is nothing there to identify it.  Stained glass windows from the 17th and 18th centuries which incorporated the Coats of Arms of previous Masters of the Rolls were preserved and installed in the Chapel, together with new windows added in 1899.  Three monuments were also retained: the terracotta figure of Dr Yonge, Master of the Rolls and Dean of York (died 1516) by Pietro Torrigiano; a monument to Richard Allington (1561); and one to Lord Bruce of Kinloss (Master of the Rolls, died 1616).

 

The information above is mainly from a modern plaque in the Weston Room, the same room in which the PRO WW1 memorial is to be found.  1977-97 the PRO moved its papers out to Kew where the collection became known as the National Archive.  The Old PRO building was then taken over by King's College London for their Maughan Library.   In 1891 an archway was added with statues of 2 kings.

 

 

But before that, in 1867, the tower above the main entrance was added, to house a water tank.  Its summit is adorned with statues of 4 queens. Victoria was the reigning monarch and the other 3 are a selection from the 6 previous queens (or almost queens) of England.  Often what's excluded is as interesting as what's included so here are the rejected queens with possible reasons for exclusion: Lady Jane Grey (short-lived), Tudor Mary I (seldom commemorated), Queen Mary (joint monarch with William).

 

All the statues are in Portland stone, 2.4m high and placed so high as to make photography a challenge.  Locations: Queen Victoria - south above main entrance, Empress Matilda - east, Queen Anne - west, Elizabeth - north.

 

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
PRO WW1 memorial

Subjects commemorated i

World War 1

We'd always assumed that this war was known as the Great War until WW2 came a...

Read More

R. J. Bence

Member of the staff at the Public Record Office. Andrew Behan has researched...

Read More

L. Benstead

Member of the staff at the Public Record Office. Andrew Behan has researched...

Read More

A. E. Bland

Member of the staff at the Public Record Office. Andrew Behan has researched...

Read More

G. D. Godfrey

Member of the staff at the Public Record Office. Andrew Behan has researched...

Read More

Show all 8

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
PRO WW1 memorial

Created by i

Public Record Office

Known as ‘The Strong Box of the Empire’, the Public Record Office was created...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
PRO WW1 memorial

Also at this site i

Nearby Memorials

Black Prince Road ceramics - plaque 09

Black Prince Road ceramics - plaque 09

SE11, Black Prince Road, Tunnel underneath railway bridge

These lovely ceramics plaques were installed some time in or before 2008. There are 12 oval ceramics of which 7 nos 1-7) are mosaic and r...

4 subjects commemorated
Rutland Estate - hole in the wall

Rutland Estate - hole in the wall

SW7, Rutland Mews East

On the map of 1862, when this area was first developed, it looks as easy to travel north-south on what is now Rutland Gate/Rutland Street...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
George Edmund Street

George Edmund Street

W1, Cavendish Place, 14

Greater London Council George Edmund Street, 1824 - 1881, architect, lived here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Old Cock Tavern - Fleet Street - lost plaque

Old Cock Tavern - Fleet Street - lost plaque

EC4, Fleet Street, 22, Ye Olde Cock Tavern

The quotation compares The Cock with Vauxhall Gardens.

3 subjects commemorated
Peele Memorial Almshouses

Peele Memorial Almshouses

SE16, Lower Road, Helen Peele Cottages

The plaque could be interpreted to say that '1901' was the year of Helen Peele's death and/or the year the plaque/houses were erected, th...

3 subjects commemorated

Previously viewed

Samuel Bourne Bevington

Samuel Bourne Bevington

VD, JP.  Son of James Bevington.   A member of the Bermondsey leather manufacturing dynasty and a philanthropist. Colonel commanding 3rd Volunteer Battalion The Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment 18...

Person, Commerce, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration

3 memorials
Neckinger Mills, Bermondsey

Neckinger Mills, Bermondsey

The Mills used to cover a large part of this area. Buildings remain at 162-164 Abbey Street. From Ideal Homes: "Bermondsey was known as a major industrial centre with particular specialisation in l...

Building, Commerce

1 memorial
Skiffle

Skiffle

A short lived music genre of the 1950s. A mixture of jazz, blues and folk music, it originated in the United States earlier in the century. In Britain, its main performer was Lonnie Donegan, who be...

Media, Music / songs

1 memorial
Rifle Brigade

Rifle Brigade

SW1, Hobart Place

There are 3 statues on this memorial: to the left - a rifleman of 1806; to the right - an officer of 1800 (when the brigade was formed); ...

5 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
Old Middlesex Sessions House

Old Middlesex Sessions House

EC1, Clerkenwell Green

Above the central window, this cameo-type profile bust of the King is draped in ribbons and swags of oak and laurel leaves. Carved by Ros...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators