architect sir edwin lutyens was commissioned for the project. although lutyens designed over 40 war memorials in the aftermath of the first world war, gerrards cross was the only in which he was commissioned to design a memorial with a functional purpose. lutyens was already a well-regarded architect for his country houses built for wealthy clients before the war, and was commissioned to design many war memorials following the success of the cenotaph on london's whitehall. the building is based on the 18th-century vicarage stables. set well back from the road and partially hidden by hedges, it is a rectangular structure constructed predominantly of red brick, most of which is painted white, with a slate roof and a large portico "in antis". the roof above the portico is supported by four sandstone doric columns, also painted white, which are level with the walls of the wings; it houses a stone memorial plaque the height of the wall which lists the names of men from the village who were killed while serving in the first world war. the interior is based around a central hall with wings to the side, forming a u shape; the wings are accessed from the exterior through doors at either end of the portico. viewed from the front, the building appears to be a single-storey structure, but at the rear the roof is shorter, revealing an attic storey above the hall.