Summary
First World War memorial erected around 1920 with Second World War additions.
Description
First World War memorial erected around 1920 with Second World War additions.
Materials: granite.
Description: Calverton War Memorial is located prominently within Calverton Cemetery. It comprises a smoothly worked wheel head cross mounting a tapering plinth set on a three-step base, and stands to approximately 3.5m high. It is sited within a square enclosure consisting of a low, smooth stone perimeter wall topped with an iron post and chain link fence.
The inscription on the shaft reads PRO PATRIA and the rest of the inscription is engraved into marble set on all four sides of the plinth and on the first step of one side: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF CALVERTON,/ WHO IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918/ LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ FOR KING AND COUNTRY. On the remaining three faces are the names of the fallen.
On the riser of the top step the inscription reads: ALSO THOSE WHO FELL IN THE SECO ND WORLD WAR 1939 - 1945 (NAMES).
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 erected in Calverton in about 1920 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 32 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. Following the Second World War the names of local servicemen who died in that conflict were added to the memorial.
Reasons for Listing
Calverton War Memorial, in Calverton Cemetery, 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 dignified and well-executed wheel head cross.
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
Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)