History in Structure

War memorial located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George

A Grade II Listed Building in Worcester, Worcestershire

More Photos »
Approximate Location Map
Large Map »

Coordinates

Latitude: 52.1946 / 52°11'40"N

Longitude: -2.2193 / 2°13'9"W

OS Eastings: 385105

OS Northings: 255178

OS Grid: SO851551

Mapcode National: GBR 1G4.9QZ

Mapcode Global: VH92T.H33F

Plus Code: 9C4V5QVJ+V7

Entry Name: War memorial located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George

Listing Date: 28 February 2017

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1438745

ID on this website: 101438745

Location: Worcester, Worcestershire, WR1

County: Worcestershire

District: Worcester

Electoral Ward/Division: Cathedral

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Worcester

Traditional County: Worcestershire

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Worcestershire

Church of England Parish: Worcester St Nicholas and All Saints

Church of England Diocese: Worcester

Tagged with: War memorial

Find accommodation in
Worcester

Summary


War memorial, erected in 1921.

Description


War memorial, erected in 1921.

MATERIALS: constructed of stone with a copper statue of Christ.

DESCRIPTION: located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George (Grade II*) the war memorial comprises a stone calvary cross surmounted on a pedestal, with an open triangular pediment above. The whole is set on a four-stepped, square base. The copper sculpture of Christ is on the south face of the cross, and above is a copper scroll inscribed with the initials ‘INRI’. This stands for Iesus Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm and translates as Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

On the south face of the pedestal is the inscription:

A. M. D. G. / HONOUR AND PRAY FOR / THE CATHOLIC / SOLDIERS AND
SAILORS / OF WORCESTER WHO FELL IN / THE GREAT WAR, 1914 – 1918 / (NAMES).

The inscription includes the names of a major and two captains. To the other faces of the pedestal are the names of the 22 Catholic servicemen who died in the conflict.

On the south face of the third step of the base is inscribed the biblical reference:

AS CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US SO THEY LAID / DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THE BRETHREN 1 JOHN III 16.


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, 6 March 2017.

History


The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War. This war memorial was erected in 1921 to the south-west of the entrance to the Roman Catholic Church of St George, and is shown in this location on the 3rd (1928) and 4th (1940) edition Ordnance Survey maps. In 2005-6 it was relocated to the rear of the church in the Garden of Remembrance.

The inscription on the war memorial includes the initials A. M. D. G. which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (‘For the Greater Glory of God’) and is the motto of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits were responsible for the parish until it was handed over to the Archdiocese of Birmingham in 1990.

Reasons for Listing


The war memorial located to the rear of the Roman Catholic Church of St George in Worcester is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it has strong cultural and historical significance within both a local and national context as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest: an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the form of a calvary cross;
* Group value: with the Roman Catholic Church of St George (Grade II*).

External Links

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

Other nearby listed buildings

BritishListedBuildings.co.uk is an independent online resource and is not associated with any government department. All government data published here is used under licence. Please do not contact BritishListedBuildings.co.uk for any queries related to any individual listed building, planning permission related to listed buildings or the listing process itself.

British Listed Buildings is a Good Stuff website.