Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 6 June 1920, with further names added after the Second World War and later conflicts.

Description

MATERIALS: Portland stone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial comprises a wheel-head cross with octagonal arms set upon an octagonal tapering shaft surmounting a square plinth. This is set upon a square two-stepped base.

The plinth bears the inscription in incised, black-painted lettering which reads MORGANS VALE AND WOODFALLS/ IN MEMORY OF OUR GLORIOUS DEAD/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918/ (NAMES). On another face the inscription reads 1939 – 1945./ (NAMES) and on another the inscription reads PALESTINE, 1946./ (NAME)/ MALAYA, 1952./ (NAME).

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 16 December 2016.

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, 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.

One such memorial was raised at Morgan's Vale 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 memorial cross was originally erected on the corner of The Ridge and Morgan's Vale Road and it was unveiled on 6 June 1920. It commemorated 19 fallen local men from Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls. Further names were added after the Second World War, and after conflicts in Palestine and Malaya.

In 1975 the Parish Council discussed the re-siting of the monument because it was considered to be a traffic hazard and it was moved to its new site across the road and re-dedicated on Remembrance Sunday 1976 by the Reverend Roger Sharpe.

On Remembrance Sunday 2001 the memorial was cleaned and renovated and re-dedicated by the Reverend Ian Provost.

Reasons for Listing

Morgan’s Vale and Woodfalls War Memorial, unveiled on 6 June 1920, 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: an elegant wheel-head cross in Portland stone;
* Group value: with the Lodge to Redlynch House (Grade II).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478002

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

• 
  Liverpool: Pevsner City Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings