North Cray War Memorial, Bexley, London

Entry Name: North Cray War Memorial

Listing Date: 3 July 2017

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1444904

ID on this website: 101444904

Location: St James's Church, North Cray, Bexley, London, DA14

County: London

District: Bexley

Electoral Ward/Division: Cray Meadows

Parish: Non Civil Parish

Built-Up Area: Bexley

Traditional County: Kent

Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Greater London

Tagged with: War memorial Celtic cross

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Summary

War memorial in the form a stone Celtic cross on a plinth, unveiled 1920.

Description

Tall wheeled Celtic cross of granite. The front face of the cross has knot-work carvings and it rests on a small platform atop a trapezoidal plinth. The front face of the small platform reads "1914 -1918" and the back face "1939 - 1945". On the front face of the plinth is the inscription: THE . GLORIOUS . DEAD / (names) / FOR . GOD ., KING . AND . COUNTRY; on the back: (names). The whole rests on a stone platform.

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, 20 July 2017.

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 the country. 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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised in North Cray at St James's Church as a permanent testament to the sacrifices made by the members of the local community. It was unveiled in the spring of 1920 at a cost of £130, a sum raised largely by the female members of local, wealthy land-owning families such as the Norths of Vale Mascal, Vansittarts of North Cray Place and Vesey Holts of Mount Mascal. Further inscriptions were added after the Second World War to commemorate the Fallen of that conflict.

Reasons for Listing

North Cray 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 the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: as a dignified stone Celtic cross war memorial;
* Group value: with the adjacent Grade II-listed St James's Church, church walls and listed tombs.

External Links

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.