Great Brington War Memorial, Brington, West Northamptonshire

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled in 1921 by the 6th Earl Spencer as Lord Lieutenant of Northampton. It was designed by Colonel John Brown and constructed by Messrs JG Pullen and Sons of Northampton.

Description

First World War memorial cenotaph, unveiled in 1921 by the 6th Earl Spencer as Lord Lieutenant of Northampton. It was designed by Colonel John Brown and constructed by Messrs JG Pullen and Sons of Northampton.

MATERIALS: of Weldon stone with a Derbyshire gritstone base.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in a prominent roadside position within a grassed and railed enclosure on the south-east side of Main Street, Great Brington. A double-leaf gate at the centre of its north-east side gives access to the enclosure.

Its design, which is based on Edwin Lutyens’s Whitehall cenotaph, consists of a 4.9m high memorial with a chest tomb atop a rectangular pylon, the whole standing on a three-stepped base. The north-west face of the chest tomb bears a bronze wreath in relief while a bronze dedication plaque on the pylon below reads: 1914-1919 / TO THE UNDYING MEMORY OF THE TRUE AND / FAITHFUL MEN WHO WENT FORTH FROM THIS / PARISH FOR GOD AND FOR LIBERTY AND / WHO DID NOT RETURN / [Names] / LORD, GIVE THEM REST AND ETERNAL LIFE.

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 in the village of Great Brington, Northamptonshire, as a permanent testament to the 28 men of Brington parish (Great Brington, Little Brington, Nobottle and Althorp) who lost their lives during the conflict. Taking the form of a cenotaph designed by Colonel John Brown and manufactured by Messrs JG Pullen and Sons of Northamton, it was unveiled on 12 June 1921 by the 6th Earl Spencer (1857-1922) as Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire. Earl Spencer not only funded the memorial but he also paid for the installation for a memorial tablet in the Church of St Mary the Virgin (listed Grade I) the previous year.

At the unveiling ceremony Earl Spencer stated that, “I do not think really that a cenotaph or memorial is needed; for us the memory of those men will never die in our hearts. This memorial is made of our county stone (Weldon stone), and as long as the stone lasts the memory of our Brington, Nobottle and Althorp men will remain. I like to think that it will show the close connection that I and my family have had with the Bringtons for many long years”. At Earl Spencer's request the inscription plaque not only included the full Christian names of the dead servicemen but it also omitted any reference to their rank.

Reasons for Listing

Great Brington War Memorial, unveiled in 1921 to the designs of Colonel John Brown, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of a world event on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflict of the First World War.

Architectural interest:

* as an accomplished and well-realised memorial that takes the form of a cenotaph.

Group value:

* with numbers 51, 52 and 53 Main Street (listed Grade II) which stand on the opposite side of the road.

External Links

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