Summary
First World War memorial.
Description
First World War memorial.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in a prominent location at the western boundary of the churchyard, close to the Church of St Mary (Grade I) and the Clarke monument (Grade II).
It takes the form of a funerary monument with a three-stepped sandstone base and marble plinth surmounted by a carved urn.
The top of the plinth is carved with a draped shroud detail with tassels at each corner. The faces of the plinth have raised arch-headed tablets with different adornments. The front tablet has a garland of flowers carved along its top, at the base of the plinth below this is a rifle carved in relief. The two tablets on the sides of the memorial have roundels, one carved with a wreath motif and the other a shovel and a possible water canister. The urn is also draped, with a wreath carved around it.
The memorial commemorates those killed in the First World War and the inscriptions are detailed in lead letters on the faces of the plinth. The inscription on the front face of the plinth reads TO/ OUR DEAR BOYS/ WHO FELL/ 1914 – 1919/ A LOVING TOKEN/ FROM/ THE PARISHIONERS. The tablet on the right hand side of the memorial, and that to the rear, have the list of the fallen and that on the left has the following quote GREATER LOVE HATH NO/ MAN THAN THIS, THAT A/ MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS./ ST JOHN. XV. 13.
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. One such memorial was raised at King’s Pyon as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
It commemorates 12 local servicemen who died during the First World War.
In 2011 the memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.
Reasons for Listing
King's Pyon War Memorial, which stands in a prominent roadside location on the western boundary of the churchyard of the Church of St Mary, 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* an elaborately carved and evocative example of a war memorial taking the form of a funerary monument.
Group value:
* with the Church of St Mary (Grade I) and the Clarke monument (Grade II).
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.
Recommended Books
London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
[(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)