Summary

First World War memorial by Alfred William Ursell, unveiled on 4 July 1921,with further names added after the Second World War and later conflicts.

Description

MATERIALS: granite.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is located in Prospect Gardens, next to St Mary’s churchyard. It consists of a large Latin cross rising from a square shaft on a square plinth. The plinth is set upon a sloping base and single step.

The plinth has a painted leaded dedication on the front face which reads: TO/ THE GLORY OF GOD AND/ IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ IN THE ROSS DISTRICT/ WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT/ LIVE IN PEACE AND LIBERTY. The other faces of the plinth and sloping base have lists of the names of the fallen including those from the Second World War and one from the Falklands War.

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 Ross-on-Wye as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Ross District War Memorial was built by Alfred William Ursell, a mason, at a cost of £400 and it commemorates 105 local servicemen who fell in the First World War.

It was unveiled on 4 July 1921 by Rev R T A Money-Kyrle and Col O R Middleton, JP Chairman of the Ross District Council.

The memorial originally had two German field guns sited with it which were removed in the 1930s.

Following the Second World War 44 names were added with a further name being added following the Falklands Conflict.

In 2008 it was discovered that the war memorial had been erected on top of a Roman settlement and so the memorial was dismantled and stored to allow archaeological investigations to take place. The memorial was subsequently repositioned approximately 50m from its original location and was rededicated.

In 2009 the memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.

Reasons for Listing

Ross District 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 granite Latin cross;
* Group value: with the wall (Grade II) and gate (Grade II*) around Prospect Gardens.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478092

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.

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