Summary

War memorial, early C20, with a later inscription to commemorate those who died during the Second World War.

Description

War memorial, early C20, with a later inscription to commemorate those who died during the Second World War.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial is built of dressed stone. It takes the form of a minimalist wheel-head cross that has shaped arms with domed bosses at the centre and one to each arm, and shows the influence of Celtic crosses. It has a tapering rectangular shaft, a chamfered plinth and a rectangular base. The front (south-east) face of the plinth is inscribed: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF / THE FOLLOWING MEN FROM THIS PARISH AND LLANTHONY / WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-18. Listed below are the sixteen men who lost their lives and the legend: "THEN GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS". The south-west face of the plinth is inscribed: 'IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE / OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR US / IN THE WORLD WAR. 1939-1945' and has the names of the men who lost their lives in the Second World War. Below is the inscription: WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 25 July 2017.

History

The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War. The war memorial in the churchyard of St Swithun's Church, to the south-east of the church, commemorates the sixteen men of this parish and Llanthony who lost their lives in the course of the war. After the Second World War, the names of those who died in that war were added to the memorial.

Reasons for Listing

The war memorial in the churchyard of St Swithun's Church is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact world events upon an individual community and, thus, has strong cultural and historical significance within both a local and national context;
* Architectural interest: as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the simple form of a wheel-head cross;
* Group value: with the listed buildings which form its setting, namely the Grade II* Church of St Swithun and a number of Grade II listed chest tombs.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26676739

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

• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair