Summary
War memorial, erected in 1922. Designed and built by Messrs Harry Hems & Sons, Exeter.
Description
War memorial, erected in 1922. Designed and built by Messrs Harry Hems & Sons, Exeter.
MATERIALS: carved from granite. The recessed inscription panels are cut into the stone and have lead lettering.
DESCRIPTION: located in a prominent position to the south-east corner of the cross roads, at the junction of Newcourt Road and School Road, the memorial comprises a Celtic wheel-cross decorated with relief-carved knotwork, on a tall tapered shaft, and tapered square plinth. The whole stands on a three-stepped, square base.
The inscription on the north-west face of the plinth reads:
IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF SILVERTON / WHO FOUGHT AND DIED / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1919
To both the south-west and north-east face of the plinth are recorded 20 names each, commemorating the 40 men of the parish who died in the First World War.
An additional recessed inscription panel has been cut into the upper step of the base which reads:
AND OF THOSE MEN WHO DIED IN / THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945
The names of ten men are recorded on the step below.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: in front of the memorial is a square granite vase with the inscription:
PRESENTED / BY THE / WOMEN’S SECTION / BRITISH LEGION
History
The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War 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.
Silverton War Memorial was sculpted by Messrs Harry Hems & Sons, Exeter at a cost of almost £200, and was unveiled on Sunday 23 April, St George’s Day, 1922 by the distinguished British soldier and Conservative Party politician Colonel G J Acland-Troyte CMG DSO. It is located in the old school grounds of the C18 charity school (Grade II, and since used as a British Legion hall) located to the opposite side of Newcourt Road.
The names of ten parishioners who died during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.
Reasons for Listing
Silverton War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as an accomplished and well-realised design in the form of a Celtic wheel-cross.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.
Group value:
* it has good group value with numerous listed buildings nearby, including the British Legion Hall (Grade II).
External Links
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Recommended Books
Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
[(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)