Summary
First World War memorial cross, unveiled 1921, with Second World War additions.
Description
Southery War Memorial is located in a roadside enclosure at the junction of Upgate Street (B1160) and Recreation Drive. It comprises an approximately 3.5m tall stone Latin cross. The cross-head, pierced through the centre, rises from the collar of a slender cross shaft, hexagonal in section. The cross shaft stands on a hexagonal pedestal with shallow cornice, on a four-stepped hexagonal base.
Dark polished stone tablets fixed to the faces of the pedestal bear the inscriptions. The principal dedicatory inscription to the front face of the pedestal reads REMEMBER/ THE MEN OF/ SOUTHERY/ WHO DIED FOR/ KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919. This is incised below the figure of a wreath. The commemorated names are listed on the other tablets, arranged by year of death. To the chamfered foot of the pedestal, the Second World War dedication reads AND WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945.
The new polished stone tablets, which are attached on top of the original inscribed lettering, record the historic information but are not of special interest in their own right. It is the original structure that has special interest.
The memorial is surrounded by six low posts connected by a chain, and stands within a railed and hedged enclosure.
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 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 which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at Southery as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 48 members of the local community who died in the First World War. Following the Second World War the names of ten men who died in that conflict were added to the memorial.
Polished dark granite tablets were added to the pedestal sometime before 2016, covering the original inscriptions.
Reasons for Listing
Southery War Memorial Cross, which stands at the junction of Upgate Street (B1160) and Recreation Drive, 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 memorial cross.
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.
Recommended Books
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)