Summary
First World War memorial with later additions.
Description
First World War memorial, with later additions for the Second World War and the conflict in Northern Ireland.
DESCRIPTION
The war memorial is set within a triangular paved area. It comprises a Latin cross on a tall, tapering octagonal shaft with a square plinth and a four-stepped octagonal base. The main inscription on the south face of the plinth reads: ERECTED IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR 1914–1919/ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The plinth and the upper step carry the names of those who died. An inscription on the upper step of the base (south face) commemorates those who died in the Second World War and reads: A.D. 1939–1945/ (NAME). A further inscription commemorates one parishioner who died in 1989 during the conflict in Northern Ireland.
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, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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 Withington as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 22 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The exact date of the memorial is not known, but it is marked on an Ordnance Survey map revised in 1927.
The names of those parishioners who fell during the Second World War and the conflict in Northern Ireland were subsequently added to the memorial
Reasons for Listing
Withington 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 made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as a thoughtfully-designed and simple memorial in the form of a Latin cross.
Group value:
* it forms a group with the Grade-II listed Style House, The Green and The Green Cottage.
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
Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)