Winchester College cloister + name plaque, copyright Historic England, ref DP189173

Winchester College War Cloister, Winchester, Hampshire. Dedicated 31 May 1924. Upgraded to Grade I. Herbert Baker designed this memorial in the unusual form of a medieval cloister, reflecting the college’s ancient buildings and serving as a via sacra (sacred way) to its precincts. The War Cloister is a poignant memorial to the 513 men of Winchester College who died during the First World War; their names engraved on stone tablets within. The architect had a strong interest in symbolism, manifested by decoration that includes coats-of-arms, angels carrying gilded symbols such as a dove of peace and ears of corn, and badges of the 120 regiments in which the college’s students served. Carefully chosen stone floor slabs in each corner represent the three Dominions of the then British Empire - South African granite, Australian syenite, Canadian marble, as well as Indian black marble. An ornate gilded memorial inscription runs as a continuous band round the knapped flint walls of the Cloister, and a stone Celtic cross, flanked below by two crusaders - their broadswords pointing downwards - stands in the central garden of remembrance.