Summary

First World War memorial designed by Henry Francis Traylen.

Description

First World War memorial designed by Henry Francis Traylen.

MATERIALS: stone.

PLAN: the memorial is located in the churchyard to the south of St Andrew’s Church.

EXTERIOR: the memorial is in the form of an ornate churchyard cross with a trefoil shape at each arm joint. The square shaft has two grooves running down each side and is supported by a low square plinth. This rests on an octagonal base set in a paved area surrounded by a kerb which has been partly removed on the west side. The west face of the plinth has the inscription ‘IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN OF COLLYWESTON WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918’. The north and south faces are inscribed with the names of the fallen. The east face has the inscription ‘1939-1945 GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN’, followed by the names of the fallen.

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

The memorial in Collyweston was unveiled on 24 June 1920 to commemorate the lives of those who fell in the First World War. The ceremony was attended by the Marquis of Exeter from Burghley House. The names of the fallen from the Second World War were later added. The memorial was designed by the architect Henry Francis Traylen (1874-1947), a prolific local architect and advocate of nearby Stamford’s historic buildings. Although he specialised in ecclesiastical work and church restorations, he also designed many secular buildings, war memorials and houses, mainly in Stamford and the surrounding villages. Traylen is associated with three listed buildings: the war memorial in Easton-on-the-Hill, Northamptonshire, the war memorial in Thornhaugh with Wansford, Cambridgeshire, and the C14 Church of St Margaret in Waddingworth in Lincolnshire, which he restored in 1913, all listed at Grade II.

Reasons for Listing

Collyweston War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of St Andrew’s Church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it is 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;

* Architectural interest: it is a well-detailed tribute to the fallen designed by the prominent local architect H. F. Traylen who is associated with three other listed buildings;

* Group Value: it has group value with the Grade II* listed St Andrew’s Church.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677488

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

• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record