Summary
War memorial, erected in around 1920.
Description
War memorial, erected in around 1920.
MATERIALS: constructed of granite. The inscriptions are of incised lettering, painted black.
DESCRIPTION: located on the south-west corner of the cross roads at Pict’s Cross the war memorial comprises a large, roughly hewn, cross with splayed arms. The cross surmounts a tapered square shaft and stands on a tapered pedestal.
To the base of the north-east face of the shaft is a recessed panel with the inscription:
FOR / GOD, KING / AND / COUNTRY / 1914 -1918
The names of the 15 men who died in the First World War are recorded on a recessed panel to the dado of the pedestal.
The central section of the north-east face of the plinth has been cut away to form a sloped panel with the inscription:
1939 – 1945 / (NAMES) / - SELLACK -
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the war memorial is approached via two stone steps and is enclosed on three sides by a snecked stone wall with two rows of upright coping stones. The side walls slope down towards the road. To each side of the north-east face of the war memorial, set at an angle, is a chamfered stone.
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.
Pict’s Cross War Memorial was erected in about 1920 and commemorates the men of the parish who died during the First World War. The names of the three parishioners who died during the Second World War were subsequently added.
Reasons for Listing
Pict’s Cross War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for its robust and striking design.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First and Second World War.
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
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
Period Property Manual (New Ed)