Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 21 July 1921, with further names added after the Second World War.

Description

MATERIALS: Bath stone.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial is composed of a Latin cross set upon an octagonal shaft with an octagonal collar.

At the base of the shaft is incised in ornate Gothic lettering: A D 1914 - 1918.

The shaft is set upon a square plinth with rounded shoulders and a three-tiered square base. The word REMEMBER is similarly carved in Gothic lettering onto the face of the plinth. The top two tiers of the base are incised with the names of the fallen.

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.

The faculty permission for the West Lavington memorial proposed to 'erect a war memorial cross in the south-east corner of the churchyard belonging to All Saints.' The estimated cost for the memorial was £200 which was to be raised by public subscription and at the time of the faculty petition £150 was already in place. The vicar at the time noted that 'the inscription will be simply the one word “remember” with the names of the men who gave their lives in the War written on the base of the memorial.'

The faculty was granted on 21 April 1921 for '...a stone column surmounted by a cross (height 16ft) and inscribed to the memory of the men (naming them) of the Parish of West Lavington who gave their lives in the Great War'. The memorial was unveiled on Thursday 21 July 1921 by the Archdeacon of Wiltshire, Venerable E J Bodington.

The memorial commemorates 22 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. Following the Second World War a further 11 names were added for the fallen of that conflict.

In 2010 the memorial was cleaned with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.

Reasons for Listing

West Lavington War Memorial 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 community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a simple yet dignified Bath stone Latin cross;
* Group value: with the Church of All Saints (Grade I), Grade-II listed tombs in the churchyard, The Old Post Office opposite (Grade II) and 13 Church Street opposite (Grade II).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478072

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

• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6