Summary
War memorial, erected in 1921.
Description
War memorial, erected in 1921.
MATERIALS: carved from Dartmoor granite with lead lettering inscriptions
DESCRIPTION: standing in a prominent location at the road junction in the centre of Sutcombe, the memorial comprises a Latin cross standing on a roughly-hewn three-stepped plinth and a square base and platform. The south face of the base is sloped.
The inscription on the south face of the top step reads:
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN / CONNECTED WITH THIS PARISH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE / GREAT WAR 1914-1918
To the south face of the middle step are recorded the six names of the men who died in the First World War.
On the south face of the bottom step the inscription continues:
“GOD GRANT REFRESHMENT, LIGHT, ETERNAL REST / YOURS BE THE GREAT REWARD WHO PAID THE PRICE / ON US THE BURNING QUESTION BE IMPRESSED / SHALL WE PROVE WORTHY OF THE SACRIFICE?”
An additional inscription on the sloping face of the base reads:
WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945 / (NAMES)
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the memorial is bounded by four granite posts with pyramidal caps.
History
The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War which saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
Sutcombe War Memorial, paid for by public subscription, was sculpted by JT Miller of Okehampton. It was unveiled on Friday 11 November 1921 by Commander Charles Williams, MP and commemorates those members of the local community who died during the First World War.
The names of five parishioners who died during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.
Reasons for Listing
Sutcombe War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a well-executed example of a Latin cross type memorial.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Group value:
* with Morice Terrace (Grade II) and the Church of St Andrew (Grade II*).
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)