Plaque

Harrow School - War Memorial Building

Inscription

IN STRUENDO HOC AEDIFICIO ARCHITECTUS HERBERTUS BAKER MACHINATOR OSCAR FABER REDEMPTORES HOLLOWAY FRATRES MAGR OPERUM ALBERTUS CLARKE

Which translates as:
In constructing this building:
Architect - Herbert Baker
Structural engineer: Oscar Faber
Contractors/Engineers: Holloway Brothers
Management: Albert Clarke

The Harrow School War Memorial Building, Memorial Shrine, Ceremonial Staircase and Retaining Wall are Listed Grade 2. The Listing summary text is: "2-storey and basement Neo-Jacobean war memorial building with cenotaph memorial and accompanying ceremonial steps, Sir Herbert Baker, 1921-1926. Red brick with ashlar and flintstone base course and ashlar dressings."

Heritage Calling has a photo of the "... gated and vaulted loggia {which} houses the sacred Memorial Shrine with a lamp that must remain lit at all times in memory of the 642 students who died in the First World War. Within the Shrine is a austere sarcophagus decorated with a carved sword and wreaths. Wall panels are inscribed with the names of the fallen ...". This loggia is to the left of our photo at the lower level.

That blog also gives: "Elizabethan oak panelling and fittings were brought here from Brooke House, Hackney, including an ornate stone fireplace, with carvings from the period of Henry VII. The teak boards used for the floor came from HMS St Vincent, a Napoleonic battleship built at Plymouth in 1815."

"Management" is our guess at a translation for "MAGRE OPERUM" which is possibly an abbreviation and so the on-line translators can't cope.

Site: Harrow School - 5 memorials (5 memorials)

HA1, Peterborough Road, Harrow War Memorial Building and Speech Room

In our photo, reading left to right: the WW1 memorial plaque is just to the right of the lamppost; the War Memorial Building plaque is one of those in the flint wall; the redbrick building at the right is the Speech Room - the road-side wall of which has the statue of Elizabeth and the Speech Room plaque is partially obscured by the top of the pig-pen railing end-post.

The Hamilton plaque is fixed inside the building, almost immediately behind the statue.

The Speech Room building was constructed 1872-7, designed by William Burges. The War Memorial building was constructed as a memorial to the 600 Old Boys of Harrow school lost in WW1. More information at the Listing entry.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Harrow School - War Memorial Building

Subjects commemorated i

Holloway Brothers

A major construction firm with its own Wikipedia page. Henry Thomas Holloway ...

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Sir Herbert Baker

Architect. Born and brought up in Kent, trained as an architect in London. 18...

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Albert Clarke

Worked on the 1921-6 construction of the Harrow School War Memorial Building,...

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Oscar Faber, CBE, DCL, D.Sc, MICE, MIMechE

Structural engineer. Born London. Influential in the development of the use o...

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This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Harrow School - War Memorial Building

Also at this site i

Elizabeth I statue - Harrow

Elizabeth I statue - Harrow

Harrow School was founded in 1572 under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I so thi...

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Elizabeth I statue - Harrow - Hamilton plaque

Elizabeth I statue - Harrow - Hamilton plaque

This plaque refers to this statue.

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Harrow School - Speech Room

Harrow School - Speech Room

The first stone of the new Speech Room was laid by His Grace the Duke of Aber...

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Harrow School - WW1 memorial

Harrow School - WW1 memorial

The plaque was laid in 1921 (British Pathe film) and the building was opened ...

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Nearby Memorials

Pepys - Stew Lane

Pepys - Stew Lane

EC4, Stew Lane

This page of Pepys' Diary is given at The Diary of Samuel Pepys with lots of explanatory links.

9 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Sir Norman Lockyer

Sir Norman Lockyer

SW5, Penywern Road, 16

English Heritage Sir Norman Lockyer, 1836-1920, Astronomer, Physicist, and Founder of Nature, Lived here, 1876-1920.

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Frank Roberts VC

Frank Roberts VC

N1, Islington Green

In July 2018 the 5 VC plaques are laid into the esplanade in front of the war memorial, reading left to right: Parslow, Booth, Train, Say...

War served | WW1
2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Jim's Pitch

Jim's Pitch

NW3, Woodland Walk

Appropriately a number of the nearby buildings have notices instructing "no ball games". 2023: We were contacted by Jim's daughter, Rach...

1 subject commemorated
Nancy Astor

Nancy Astor

SW1, St James's Square, 4

The modern information board at the entrance to the gardens gives the following: "No. 4 (built 1728): Home of the Astor family for thirty...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator