The War Memorials Project is keen to see more war memorials included in English Heritage's List. Listing highlights a building or structure's architectural or historical value, and ensures that this is taken into account if and when any changes to the memorial and its surroundings might be considered. Any significant changes that are to be made to a listed building require listed building consent. It is a criminal offence to alter a listed building without listed building consent. For more information, visit our Historic Buildings web page on listing and designation.

Many memorials are associated with churches. A separate system of control exists for alterations to fabric or fittings relating to ecclesiastical buildings. For more information, see this article on the subject.

Anyone can nominate a war memorial for listing. You will need to refer to the English Heritage selection guide for Commemorative Structures. According to this guide, "Unless compromised by alteration or of little design interest, there is a presumption in favour of listing all war memorials." There is now an online listing application form on English Heritage's website.

A nomination for Listing is more likely to be successful if you can provide evidence of the memorial's historical or artistic merit. This now includes its significance to today's community. In many cases our archive is ideal for extracting supporting evidence for a nomination, as our records contain interesting historical information and references. You can use the main database website or contact the project to find out what information we hold on a particular memorial to support an application, which might include historical plans, surveys, or architectural information. Some of this may already be accessible on our main database website.

You will also need to include good quality colour photographs of the structure as it stands today. We may also be able to help you locate historical photographs as well.

You can use our main database website to search for the memorial in question. In one of the information boxes towards the bottom of the record will be a reference to its Listing Status. This will contain the Grade, if the monument is already listed. If the box is empty, the memorial is currently not known to be Listed. This means that a plaque inside a Grade II* listed church, for example, will say Grade II* on the record for that memorial.

For war memorials inside, attached to or within the curtilage of buildings, the Listing Status of the principal building normally applies. There are examples, however, of separately listed structures in the grounds of listed buildings.

Most of the war memorials that are currently listed are freestanding, external structures. This does not mean that other types of war memorial cannot be nominated for Listing. The War Memorials Project would like to see a greater variety of forms given the recognition and protection afforded by Listing, and we can advise you on applications relating to other types if you are considering making a nomination.

The war memorial will be assigned a grade (most of those currently listed in Leicestershire are Grade II) and the local authorities are notified by English Heritage. The National Heritage List for England is the register of all listings.

Listed war memorials are recorded on Leicestershire's Historic Environment Record (HER). For more information on the HER, and how to see these records online via English Heritage's Heritage Gateway, please refer to our webpages on the Historic Environment Record. Leicestershire Environment Online (LEO) also maps listed buildings in Leicestershire and Rutland.

The War Memorials Trust also encourage the listing of war memorials. You can see their web pages and helpsheet on listing on their website.

If you are interested in contributing to the War Memorials Project or would like more information, please contact: