Public Share Their Knowledge Of Hundreds Of Little-Known Memorials

The 'Delly End Peace Memorial' was erected to commemorate peace at the end of the First World War and the safe return of those who survived (Picture: Roger Templeman/Geograph).

A pub mural to a local rebel and a garden shrine to paupers and prostitutes are among sites nominated by the public in a search for England's little-known memorials.

Historic England asked members of the public to share knowledge of England's forgotten, secret or little-known memorials, from murals and shrines to statues and inscriptions on benches and trees.

The hunt for information about local monuments, street shrines and community tributes is part of a project, called 'Immortalised', by the heritage body.

Some of those nominated by the public have been given listed protection, including the 'Delly End Peace Memorial', a peace memorial commissioned by a woman to mark the end of the First World War and the safe return of those who survived.

Overall, hundreds of locally well-loved statues and other memorials were nominated across England, charting local histories and showing the diversity of the way people and events are commemorated.

Nominations include a stained glass window in All Saints Church, Cambridge, featuring four women and their dedication to humanitarian work.

Among them is Edith Cavell, pioneering nurse who during the First World War saved the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination, before being found and executed by firing squad.

In Parkend, Gloucestershire, a pub mural remembers Warren James who led a rebellion against the Crown after large areas of the Forest of Dean were enclosed.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: "We are very grateful that so many people took the time to tell us about memorials in their communities and the stories behind them.

"At a time when our national statues and memorials are under increasing scrutiny, we're delighted to shine a light on these often undiscovered and under-appreciated markers of our past.

"Every one of those that's been nominated has a local champion and someone who cares about it and about the story it tells.

"It's important for us all to know who has been commemorated in our public spaces and what this can tell us about our history, as we look at how public memorials are evolving today."