Summary
First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War additions.
Description
First World War memorial, 1922.
MATERIALS: Honister slate.
DESCRIPTION: Grange War Memorial is located in the churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, B5289, Grange, Cumbria. It is prominently situated by the south wall of the church, facing the main road passing by. It comprises a wheel-head Honister slate cross on a square plinth with a single-stepped base. It has a highly decorated front face including animals, vines, a laurel wreath and strap work carvings. The sides of the cross and shaft are also decorated.
The shaft bears the First World War inscription in relief-carved lettering, and a tablet added to the front of the plinth bears the Second World War inscriptions in relief-carved lettering.
The inscription reads: IN SACRED/ MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF/ GRANGE WHO/ GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR/ THE RIGHT/ AND THEIR/ COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ (Names)/ THEIR NAME LIVETH/ FOR EVERMORE/ ALSO IN MEMORY OF/ (Names)/ 1939 – 1945/ WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.
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 Grange as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Grange War Memorial was situated within the churchyard. The memorial commemorates four local servicemen who fell in the First World War (out of 40 who had served) and three men who fell in the Second World War. The memorial cost £110 to make.
The memorial is thought to have been designed by William Gershom Collingwood (1854–1932) who designed several memorials including the cross to John Ruskin at Coniston and First World War memorials at Grasmere, Coniston and Hawkshead amongst others.
Collingwood was a pupil of Ruskin’s and had been helping him at Brantwood editing a number of Ruskin's texts. Collingwood’s biography of Ruskin, published in 1893 and rewritten in 1900, became a standard work. In the 1890s Collingwood found his vocation as a painter and also became interested in Lake District history. He joined the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society in 1887 studying Norse and Anglican archaeology in the north, particularly the artistic aspect of it, on which he became widely recognised as the leading authority. His most important work, Northumbrian Crosses of the pre-Norman Age was published in 1927. These interests influenced his 1901 design of Ruskin’s memorial which was in the form of an Anglo-Celtic cross with interlace scrollwork and symbolic panels (Grade II). His design for Coniston War Memorial was similar with Scandinavian interlace designs and he designed several First World War memorials in similar Norse style including those at Grasmere and Hawkshead. Collingwood’s interlace designs for each memorial are all individual and not repeated. He also decorated all four sides of a memorial. Informed by his scholarly and artistic expertise they are among the most distinguished works that he produced in his career.
The memorial at Grange was unveiled on 25 June 1922 by Lieutenant Colonel WT Willcox, 3rd Hussars of Grange in Borrowdale and was dedicated by the Vicar.
After the Second World War names were added, the memorial was unveiled on 06 November 1949 by Mr J P Whittaker and dedicated by Canon W Elliot Bramley, Rural Dean of Ambleside, formerly Vicar of Crosthwaite (Keswick).
Reasons for Listing
Grange War Memorial, which is situated in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Grange, 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:
* as an elaborately decorative and well-executed slate cross featuring carvings of animals, vines, a wreath and Celtic strap work;
* probably designed by William Gershom Collingwood (1854–1932) informed by his scholarly and artistic expertise studying Norse and Anglican archaeology and early Northumbrian Crosses.
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
Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)