Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Description

The memorial stands just inside the entrance to the cemetery on Mill Lane, to the south-west of the mortuary chapel. Built of a dark polished granite, it comprises a tall, square, obelisk rising from a square plinth with a narrow cornice. The plinth stands on a two-stage, square, base.

The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the plinth reads ERECTED BY THE/ PARISHIONERS TO THE GLORY/ OF GOD AND THE GRATEFUL/ MEMORY OF THOSE STOTFOLD/ SOLDIERS AND SAILORS/ WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED/ ON THIS MONUMENT AND WHO/ IN RESPONSE TO THEIR/ COUNTRY’S CALL, GAVE THEIR/ LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918./ AND/ 1939 – 1945. An inscription on the front face of the upper stage of the base reads “GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN/ THIS THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS.”

The names of those who fell in the First World War are recorded on the other faces of the plinth and on the upper stage of the base. In addition the lower stage of the base reads 1939 – 1945, with the names of those 13 who died in the Second World War recorded below. The inscriptions are made with gilded metal lettering attached to the stone surfaces.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 16 January 2017.

History

Stotfold War Memorial, erected in the cemetery on Mill Lane, was unveiled and dedicated on 18 July 1920, in commemoration of 64 local servicemen who died during the First World War. Following the end of the Second World War an inscription was added to the plinth commemorating those who died in that conflict. Conservation and repair work was carried out in 2014, funded by War Memorials Trust. One name was added to the memorial in October 2015.

Reasons for Listing

Stotfold War Memorial, situated in the grounds of Stotfold Cemetery, 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: an elegant, well-proportioned Classical obelisk.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677760

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)