Summary
A First World War memorial cross with additions and alterations of after 1945, placed near to a cross roads.
Description
A First World War memorial cross with additions and alterations of after 1945, placed near to a cross roads.
MATERIALS and PLAN: of rock-hewn stone, set in a rectangular enclosure of railings. The monument takes the form of a Celtic cross with wheel head and tapered shaft with a stepped, rectangular base and a plinth.
The monument faces south and has moulded arms and a tapered shaft with Celtic knot panels in relief. At the centre of the wheel head cross is a boss. The stepped plinth is inscribed; to the riser of the top step: ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD / IN REVERED MEMORY OF THE MEN OF LINKINHORNE. / WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, / 1914 – 1919. / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. THAT A MAN / LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.’ Names are recorded on the step below. In front of the lowest step a granite tablet which takes the form of a rolled scroll reads: ‘ALSO OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE / WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945’. Names are recorded below. The plinth forms a rectangular enclosure with railings supported by chamfered curb stones.
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 31 January 2018.
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. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Upton Cross, Linkinhorne, 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 memorial appears to date from the period about 1920 with additions and alterations after 1945. It stands near to the cross roads at the centre of this Cornish mining community.
Reasons for Listing
Upton Cross and Linkinhorne 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 sacrifice it has made in the First World War.
Architectural interest:
* as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial, which takes the form of a granite cross on a tapered shaft with stepped base and railed enclosure.
External Links
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Recommended Books
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)