Description

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 28 November 2022 to amend date of construction, correct spelling of builder's name and to reformat the text to current standards

1286/0/10025

BREEDON ON THE HILL
Village Green
MAIN STREET
War Memorial

08-MAR-11

II
War memorial built in 1921 by local men Messrs Sault, Lester and Barsby.

The war memorial is located on the green in the centre of the village. It is a small, round, Norman-style building constructed of polygonal, Carnoniferous limestone with a shallow domed roof covered in stone slates, surmounted by a stone-capped finial and Latin cross. The stone-capped parapet has four embrasures and is supported by a plain corbel table. There are four regularly spaced, round-arched doorways with projecting imposts, and elaborate wrought-iron gates. In between two doorways is a marble tablet which is set into a round-arched recess with jagged stones forming a chevron pattern. The tablet is inscribed 'ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF BREEDON WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919' (names) '1939-1945' (names). The interior contains four tall alcoves positioned in between the doorways.

HISTORY
The war memorial in Breedon on the Hill commemorates the fallen from the First and Second World Wars. It was built in 1921 by local men Messrs Sault, Lester and Barsbywith stone from Breedon quarry, supplied by the quarry owner J. G. Shields. The cost of labour and other materials was met by public subscription which raised £150. The unveiling by the Countess of Loudoun took place before a crowd of about 500 people, including around fifty ex-soldiers of the Parish. An undated photograph, probably taken in the 1920s/30s, shows a low circular wall constructed of polygonal stone around the memorial which has since been removed. In the 1950s, Robert Harvey, the local blacksmith, whose smithy overlooked the memorial, created the wrought-iron gates that were fitted into the four arched doorways.

SOURCES
UK National Inventory of War Memorials, http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/, accessed 3 December 2010.
Pevsner, Nikolaus, The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland, 2nd edn revised by Elizabeth Williamson (2003).

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
The Norman-style war memorial in Breedon on the Hill, constructed in 1921, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: the memorial has special historic interest commemorating those members of the community who died in the First and Second World Wars.
* Architectural interest: the memorial is a rare early-C20 example of a vernacular building constructed with local stone by local men to commemorate fallen friends. Its circular, Norman-style form takes its inspiration from other buildings in the village, rooting it architecturally and aesthetically in its locality.
* Rarity: in contrast to the standard war memorial design, the Norman-style structure at Breedon on the Hill is extremely unusual. There are no listed examples of C20 war memorials in a similar form, and its rarity gives it considerable special interest.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 20 January 2017.

Reasons for Listing

The Norman-style war memorial in Breedon on the Hill, constructed in 1921, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: the memorial has special historic interest commemorating those members of the community who died in the First and Second World Wars.
* Architectural interest: the memorial is a rare early-C20 example of a vernacular building constructed with local stone by local men to commemorate fallen friends. Its circular, Norman-style form takes its inspiration from other buildings in the village, rooting it architecturally and aesthetically in its locality.
* Rarity: in contrast to the standard war memorial design, the Norman-style structure at Breedon on the Hill is extremely unusual. There are no listed examples of C20 war memorials in a similar form, and its rarity gives it considerable special interest.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675368

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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