Summary

A churchyard war memorial of 1923.

Description

A churchyard war memorial of 1923.
MATERIAL and PLAN: the memorial is of limestone. It is placed at the junction of two gravel paths in the graveyard to the east of the Church of St Mary and takes the form of a Celtic Cross, with wheel head on a pedestal with stepped, square plinth.

The cross is of ashlar and has a wheel head. The head and the tapered shaft have entwined Celtic knot decoration to sunken panels on the west face. The east face and flanks are blank. The pedestal has a domed top and tapered body, and its corners are chamfered. The west face bears the inscription ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND / IN HONOURED MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF THESE PARISHES / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918 / ETERNAL REST AND PEACE GRANT TO THEIR SOULS O / LORD AND LET LIGHT EVER / LASTING SHINE UPON THEM.’ Names of the fallen are inscribed on the west face and the names of the dead from the Second World War are inscribed on the south side. The makers mark ‘W.JONES / SALOP’ is inscribed on the plinth.

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, 23 November 2017.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. One such memorial was Leebotwood War Memorial. The monument was dedicated by the Bishop of Hereford at a ceremony on 27 October 1923.

Reasons for Listing

Leebotwood War Memorial, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it is a poignant reminder of the impact of tragic 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 the Celtic, wheel-head cross;

* Group value: with the Church of St Mary (listed Grade II*)

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677456

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

• 
  For the Record
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)