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Latitude: 50.909 / 50°54'32"N
Longitude: -0.5388 / 0°32'19"W
OS Eastings: 502831
OS Northings: 113185
OS Grid: TQ028131
Mapcode National: GBR GJS.W25
Mapcode Global: FRA 96RP.XLG
Plus Code: 9C2XWF56+HF
Entry Name: Amberley War Memorial
Listing Date: 24 August 2017
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1449028
ID on this website: 101449028
Location: St Michael's Church, Amberley, Horsham, West Sussex, BN18
County: West Sussex
District: Horsham
Civil Parish: Amberley
Built-Up Area: Amberley
Traditional County: Sussex
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Sussex
Tagged with: War memorial
First World War memorial granite cross, 1919, with later additions for Second World War.
MATERIALS: Cornish granite.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial cross stands in the churchyard of the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade I-listed), close to the eastern entrance to the churchyard. It takes the form of a rough-hewn Cornish granite wheel-head cross, about 2m tall, rising from a plinth that stands on a stepped base.
INSCRIPTION: an inscription on the front face of the foot of the cross shaft reads: LAUS DEO, whilst the principal dedicatory inscription on the front faced of the plinth reads: THIS CROSS/ WAS SET UP BY THE PEOPLE OF/ AMBERLEY & HOUGHTON/ AS A THANKFUL MEMORIAL BEFORE/ ALMIGHTY GOD/ OF THE VICTORIOUS ISSUE OF THE/ GREAT WAR 1914-1918/ AND/ OF THE DEVOTION/ OF THOSE WHO FOUGHT & THOSE WHO FELL/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY & FOR RIGHT.
A small stone (limestone) laid to the front of the memorial, butting the base, carries the Second World War inscription, reading: IN MEMORY OF THOSE/ WHO FELL IN THE WAR/ 1939-1945.
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. 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 which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at Amberley as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The cross was provided in 1919 by G Maile and Sons (London) at the arrangement of the incumbent, Reverend H Rickard. The cost of the Diocesan Architect's design being prohibitive, and the design ill-favoured locally, Reverend Rickard chose Maile and Sons' cross as both affordable and generally approved of.
Whilst the cross does not record the names of the casualties, 15 First World War and six Second World War combatants are listed on plaques in the neighbouring Church of St Michael.
Amberley War Memorial Cross, which stands in the churchyard, 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* A simple yet poignant granite wheel-head cross in the Celtic style.
Group value: with the Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade I), the scheduled and Grade I-listed Amberley Castle, and numerous other listed buildings on Church Street.
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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