Summary

First World War memorial of elongated medieval-cross design with later additions for the Second World War standing in the churchyard of St Swithun's Church, Bathford.

Description

First World War Memorial with later additions for the Second World War.

MATERIALS: Bath stone.

DESCRIPTION: Bathford War Memorial stands in the churchyard of St Swithun’s Church (Grade II), to the north-west of the church, between the church and the lychgate (Grade II).

The memorial is a tall medieval cross design on a tapering octagonal shaft set upon a square pedestal with four projecting square steps, one in each cardinal direction, on an octagonal base. The pedestal is decorated with four gabled pilasters.

The memorial is inscribed on its eastern side with the words LEST WE FORGET/THESE MEN/GAVE THEIR LIVES/FOR THEIR COUNTRY/IN THE GREAT WAR/1914-1918.

The northern, southern, and western sides are inscribed with the names of soldiers that lost their lives in the First World War and the steps with the names of soldiers that lost their lives in the Second World War.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the largest 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.

Bathford War Memorial stands 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 was designed by the architect GH Shackle of Marlborough and was dedicated in December 1919 at a ceremony attended by Prebendary Lancelot Fish, the Archdeacon of Bath.

The names of those lost in the Second World War were added later to the steps of the memorial.

Reasons for Listing

Bathford 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 this local community, and the sacrificess it made during the First and Second World Wars.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-executed memorial constructed of high-quality materials and craftmanship and with a clear design intent.

Recommended Books

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014