Summary

A First World War memorial, dating from 1920; designed by Fred E Openshaw, architect and made by Harry Hems and Sons of Exeter.

Description

A First World War memorial, dating from 1920; designed by Fred E Openshaw, architect and made by Harry Hems and Sons of Exeter.

MATERIALS
Doulting stone.

DESCRIPTION
The memorial resembles a medieval preaching cross. The closed lantern head has corner pinnacles and a central finial, and is heavily crocketed. Opposing faces have relief carvings of the Crucifixion and the Virgin and Child; the other two faces have depictions of St George and St Michael in relief. The lantern is set on a foliate capital above a tapering shaft with elaborate chamfers and stops, which stands on a moulded, square plinth. The whole is set on a two-stepped platform, the upper step with a moulded foot. The plinth has carved inscriptions in a Serif font. The front face is inscribed: PRAISE GOD AND REMEMBER / THE MEN OF CHEDDAR / WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1919. The other three faces are inscribed with the names of the 33 men who lost their lives in the conflict.

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, 14 December 2016.

History

The war memorial at the Church of St Andrew in Cheddar was dedicated and unveiled in June 1920, as part of the great wave of commemoration of the sacrifice made by the fallen from communities across the country. The memorial was set up at the instigation of Rev J N Wallis, the vicar of St Andrew’s. The memorial was designed by Fred E Openshaw, an architect practicing in Oxford, and carved by Harry Hems and Sons, a prolific and recognised firm of sculptors. The form replicates a medieval preaching cross. The memorial in the churchyard of the Church of St Andrew is one of two First World War memorials set up in the town; the other is a more conventional cross, set at a major road junction, which also serves as the Second World War memorial (Listed Grade II).

Reasons for Listing

The war memorial at St Andrew’s Church in Cheddar 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;
* Design interest: a well-executed stone memorial, of unusually elaborate form, resembling a medieval preaching cross with extensive carving;
* Group value: with the Grade I listed Church of St Andrew, at the centre of whose Garden of Remembrance the war memorial stands.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677986

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

• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Leeds, Bradford and the North (Pevsner Architectural Guides / Buildings of England)