Whippingham War Memorial, Whippingham, Isle of Wight

Summary

First World War memorial, erected in 1919 to the design of Percy Stone.

Description

First World War memorial, erected in 1919 to the design of Percy Stone. The memorial takes the form of a Calvary cross, with separate but associated wall plaques. The memorial stands in the churchyard of St Mildred, to the south of the nave, with the south porch to the west and the south transept to the east. Plaques recording the names of the fallen are fixed to the south wall of the nave of the church, which is listed at Grade I.

MATERIALS: Portland stone plinth and steps, with a teak cross, a bronze figure of Christ and a bronze plaque. The wall plaques behind are of granite.

DESCRIPTION: the teak shaft of the cross is square in section, with chamfered corners, and tapers from the base, which is encircled by a trefoiled bronze or brass collar, recalling the form of a coronet. The gabled Calvary canopy has shaped bargeboards. A bronze figure of Christ is affixed, with a bronze sign reading ‘INRI’ above. The stone plinth has projecting gables at the four angles of the shaft; between the two front gables a bronze plaque is set beneath a billeted band. The inscription reads, ‘GREATER LOVE HATH/ NO MAN THAN THIS/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN/ HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS’ (John 15:13). The plinth stands on a base formed of two octagonal steps.

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 both of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities, 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.

Whippingham War Memorial, situated in the churchyard of St Mildred, was erected to commemorate the 14 men of the parish of Whippinham who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was designed by local architect Percy Stone, and unveiled by Princess Beatrice, youngest child of Queen Victoria and Governor of the Isle of Wight.

When it was first constructed the names of the fallen were not recorded on the memorial itself, but instead on a panel within the church. At a later date this panel was relocated to an exterior wall of the church, directly behind the war memorial; a second plaque was added recording the five names of those lost in the Second World War.

The Church of St Mildred, built between 1854 and 1862 to the designs of Albert Jenkins Humbert, is the estate church for Osborne House, the summer residence of Queen Victoria. Prince Maurice of Battenburg, son of Princess Beatrice and grandson of Queen Victoria, is the first of those named on the memorial plaque. Prince Maurice, who served as a lieutenant in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, was killed during the Ypres Salient on 27 October 1914 when he was struck by shrapnel from a bursting shell. Princess Beatrice had married her husband, Prince Henry of Battenburg, in St Mildred’s Church in 1885 and following this spent much of her time on the Isle of Wight, particularly after she was made Governor in 1896. The church contains memorials to Albert, Prince Consort, to children of Victoria and Albert, and to Prince Henry of Battenburg.

The architect and antiquarian Percy Goddard Stone (1856-1934) was born in London, the son of the architect Coutts Stone. He was articled to George Devey in 1875, and was briefly an assistant to his brother-in-law William (later Sir William) Emerson. He entered into partnership with his father in 1879, remaining in London until the late 1890s when he moved to the Isle of Wight.

Stone became the island’s historian, with a particular interest in Carisbrooke Castle, on which he undertook restorations under the patronage of Princess Beatrice, from circa 1898. In 1904 the rebuilt Chapel of St Nicholas was dedicated as a memorial to Charles I. Stone completed the restoration in 1929, when it was rededicated as the County War Memorial. Stone’s other war memorials on the island include the Grade II-listed memorials at Bembridge, Freshwater and Whitwell and those at Arreton, Brading and Sandown.

Reasons for Listing

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION

The war memorial at Whippingham is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events upon all sections of this small community.

Architectural interest:

* the memorial was designed by the architect and historian Percy Stone, whose career was devoted to the study and restoration of the island’s historic fabric;
* for its careful and well-detailed design.

Group value:

* with the mid-C19 Grade I- listed church of St Mildred, and its Grade II-listed lychgate; the Victoria and Albert Almshouses of 1880 to the north, and the early-C19 rectory to the south, both listed at 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.