History in Structure

Nuneaton War Memorial

A Grade II Listed Building in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

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Coordinates

Latitude: 52.5196 / 52°31'10"N

Longitude: -1.4657 / 1°27'56"W

OS Eastings: 436350

OS Northings: 291440

OS Grid: SP363914

Mapcode National: GBR 6KX.27R

Mapcode Global: VHBWD.KX0T

Plus Code: 9C4WGG9M+VP

Entry Name: Nuneaton War Memorial

Listing Date: 17 October 2016

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1438676

ID on this website: 101438676

Location: Riversley Park, Nuneaton, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV11

County: Warwickshire

District: Nuneaton and Bedworth

Electoral Ward/Division: Wem Brook

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Nuneaton

Traditional County: Warwickshire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Warwickshire

Church of England Parish: Chilvers Coton All Saints

Church of England Diocese: Coventry

Tagged with: War memorial

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Summary


First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Description


The pink granite memorial stands in the northern part of Riversley Park, aligned with Nuneaton Museum and Art Gallery (not listed) and the Boer War memorial. It takes the form of a tall Celtic cross with five hemispherical bosses on the cross head. The staged foot of the cross shaft rises from a large tapering plinth, square on plan. The plinth’s battered foot stands on three low steps of a different stone. The bottom step carries a low ornamental rail of twisted iron, painted black.

The front face of the plinth is ornamented with a wreath suspended from a ribbon, carved in relief, below which the principal dedicatory inscription reads: IN MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN/ OF NUNEATON AND NEIGHBOURHOOD/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR/ KING & COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919/ AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF ALL/ WHO FELL IN THE WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ “THEIR NAMES SHALL LIVE FOR EVERMORE.”

The commemorated names are recorded on the remaining faces of the plinth, on dark stone plaques inserted into the plinth, with to the rear an inscription reading: “THEY WROUGHT TO SAVE/ US & TO SAVE US DIED.” This line was taken from the temporary memorial that preceded the monument in the park.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 17 January 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 the country. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Nuneaton as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the town and district who lost their lives in the First World War.

Replacing a temporary memorial that had been erected in May 1918, the memorial in Riversley Park was unveiled on 14 November 1920. It had cost £500 and commemorated more than 600 men who died in the conflict. At a later date a panel was added to the memorial recording the names of a further 55 combatants. Two guns that flanked the memorial were removed in the Second World War scrap drive. A dedication marking the town’s Second World War losses was added, although no names from that period are recorded on the memorial.

Reasons for Listing


Nuneaton War Memorial, which stands in Riversley Park, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a substantial and imposing memorial cross.

External Links

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