Summary

A war memorial, designed by Thomas Falconer, Harold Baker and F J Bligh Bond, constructed in 1920/1.

Description

A war memorial, designed by Thomas Falconer, Harold Baker and F J Bligh Bond, constructed in 1920/1.

MATERIALS:the memorial is constructed from local limestone.

PLAN: the war memorial cross is set within a lenticular-shaped enclosure on rising ground, incorporating a screen wall with inscriptions.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a Celtic cross, with carved strap work. The tapering, square-section shaft is set directly into the square base. The lower part of the shaft carries a bronze plaque which lists the twenty-seven men commemorated from World War II. The text gives the rank, name and service or regiment and decorations of the Fallen. The base of the cross has a metal plaque with the text: IN GRATEFUL & AFFECTIONATE / MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF NAILSWORTH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR KING AND COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919 /& THE WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945 / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The flanking sides of the base carry metal plaques with the rank, name and service or regiment and decorations of the commemorated (39 on each plaque). On the side that faces Church Street is an additional, smaller metal plaque commemorating a local serviceman killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Below the base, the wider plinth includes a small planter.

The memorial stands on an area of paving which is lenticular-shaped, and set on rising ground. The area is enclosed by a curved, stone screen wall to the rear carrying inset stone tablets inscribed with the names of the seventy-six Fallen of the First World War. The stone walls continue to either side of the plot, built in rock-faced limestone. Between the walls, the front of the plot is bounded by metal railings with two gates. Due to the rising ground, the plot is approached by a flight of stone steps.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 10 January 2017.

History

The war memorial was erected in 1920/1, to designs by Falconer, Baker and Bligh Bond, a local firm founded by Thomas Falconer (1879-1934), a significant local Arts and Crafts architect, who was in partnership with Harold Baker from 1917 to 1928; he also worked with John Campbell from 1922 under the name Falconer, Baker and Campbell and with Bligh Bond from 1919-1924. The war memorial was set up in a very prominent location, at the heart of the village, on rising ground below the steep churchyard of the parish church of St George (Grade II).

Originally set up to honour the Fallen of the First World War, the memorial was altered after the Second World War by the addition of the details of the men who lost their lives in that conflict. Since then, a plaque has been added to commemorate a soldier who died in Afghanistan in 2010.

Reasons for Listing

Nailsworth war memorial cross is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20
* Architectural interest: for the quality of the design and craftsmanship of this sombre and dignified memorial;
* Group value: with the Grade II-listed church of St George, which provides its backdrop.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677043

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

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  For the Record