Singleton War Memorial, Singleton, West Sussex

Entry Name: Singleton War Memorial

Listing Date: 9 March 2018

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1454346

ID on this website: 101454346

Location: St Mary's Church, Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18

County: West Sussex

District: Chichester

Civil Parish: Singleton

Built-Up Area: Singleton

Traditional County: Sussex

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): West Sussex

Tagged with: War memorial

Summary

First World War memorial. Designer unknown. The names of the fallen from the Second World War, were subsequently added.

Description

First World War memorial. Designer unknown. The names of the fallen from the Second World War, were subsequently added.

MATERIALS: limestone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands on a low grassy mound on the eastern boundary of the churchyard. It consists of a tall wheel cross with a sword carved in relief on its front face. The shaft rises from a two-tier plinth on a two stepped base. The inscription on the front face of the lower plinth reads ‘IN MEMORY OF THE MEN/ OF THIS PARISH WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914 - 1918/ 1939 - 1945/ THEIR GLORY LIVETH FOR EVERMORE’. The names of the fallen are inscribed on the sides of the plinth.

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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

The war memorial at Singleton was presumably erected shortly after the end of the First World War but the date of its dedication and designer are not currently known. The names of the fallen from the Second World War, were subsequently added.

Reasons for Listing

The Singleton war memorial in the churchyard of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Singleton 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a well executed example of one of the common forms of First World War memorials.

Group value:

* with the adjoining Grade I-listed Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

External Links

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.