Summary

First World War memorial. Erected in between 1919 and 1939. Architect unknown.

Description

First World War memorial. Erected in between 1919 and 1939. Architect unknown.
MATERIALS: Carved from limestone.
DESCRIPTION: The Vicarage Street Church School War Memorial is located within the churchyard of St Nicolas (Grade I-Listed).
It consists of a limestone Latin wheel cross with decorated collar. The cross sits on an octagonal shaft which rises from a cross-shaped plinth on a two-stepped base.
The inscriptions on the plinth read: + REMEMBER BEFORE GOD + / THE SOULS OF THE MASTERS AND OF THE OLD BOYS / OF THE VICARAGE STREET CHURCH SCHOOL NUNEATON / WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918 / "MAY THEY REST IN PEACE" / (NAMES) / THE MEMORIAL WAS REMOVED TO THE CHURCHYARD AND RESTORED IN 1985 / RE-DEDICATED TO THE FALLEN OF THE 1939 - 1945 WAR AND SINCE / FROM THIS COMMUNITY / THEY ARE AT PEACE NOW / "LORD MAKE US INSTRUMENTS OF YOUR PEACE".
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, 5 June 2017.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw an unprecedented wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country. One such memorial was erected in the grounds of the Vicarage Street School, to commemorate former pupils who fell in the conflict.
The memorial was moved in 1985, following the closure of the school, to the grounds of St Nicolas’ Church, and was renovated at the same time. The monument shaft was broken when it was struck by a tree during works to the churchyard in 2014. The shaft was repaired like-for-like.

Reasons for Listing

The Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, which stands in the grounds of St Nicolas Church, 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 sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: a Latin wheel cross on a tall limestone shaft;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of St Nicolas and Grade II-listed Old Grammar School.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478656

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

• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)