Summary

A churchyard First World War memorial of c 1920, with an additional inscription added after 1945.

Description

A churchyard First World War memorial of c 1920, with an additional inscription added after 1945.

MATERIALS & PLAN: limestone ashlar, with a wheel-head cross on a tapered shaft with chamfered edges which rises from a square plinth with two-stepped base. The cross is placed to the south-west of the church tower and raised above the level of the churchyard wall and the raised pavement.

The wheel-head cross has splayed ends to the arms and hollow-chamfered edges. To its base is a band of foliage in the form of a laurel wreath. The tapered shaft has hollow-chamfered edges and inset panels of stylised foliage to the lower body of the shaft on the western and eastern sides. Both east and west sides of the plinth have superimposed stone panels, presumably to replace worn original lettering beneath. That on the west side reads: LIVE THEN FOR ENGLAND / WE FOR ENGLAND DIED / IN / GRATEFUL MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF DIDDLEBURY / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1919 / MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. Names of the fallen are inscribed on the eastern panel. The corners of the plinth have roll mouldings to their vertical edges.

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, 27 July 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. 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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Diddlebury, Shropshire as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The monument appears to date from c 1920, with an additional inscription added after 1945 to commemorate the Fallen from the Second World War.

Reasons for Listing

Diddlebury War Memorial, Shropshire is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* 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;
* Architectural interest: as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial, which takes the form of a wheel-head cross;
* Group value: with the church of St Peter, Diddlebury (Grade II*).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66477785

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)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability