Summary
A village war memorial which stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Swithin, Thorley, Isle of Wight, dating from about 1920.
Description
A village war memorial of about 1920 which stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Swithin, Thorley, Isle of Wight.
MATERIALS and PLAN: the monument has a tall, rectangular base, which is battered and now coated with pebble-dash render, although it may originally have appeared different. Above this the base to the cross is stepped and of marble, as is the cross, which has a tapered shaft and a wheel head.
DESCRIPTION: the steps of the base bear the names of the dead and the tapered base of the cross is inscribed on its western side: 'IN MEMORIAM / 1914 - 1919 / GOD IS LOVE'. The marble cross is of Celtic pattern with a wheel head and has a raised, moulded edge and the Christogram 'IHS' entwined at the centre.
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 raised at Thorley as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War The memorial appears to date from about 1920.
Reasons for Listing
Thorley 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial, which takes the form of a cross on a stone shaft with base.
Group value:
* with the Church of St Swithin (Grade II), in which churchyard it stands to the south of the church.
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.
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