Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with Second World War additions.

Description

First World War memorial, 1920.

MATERIALS: grey granite.

DESCRIPTION: Crosscanonby War Memorial is located in the churchyard of the Church of St John, Crosscanonby, Cumbria. It is prominently situated near to the churchyard lychgate, by the path leading to the church. It comprises a wheel-head cross with diagonally down-pointed sword and sword belt carved in relief, on a tiered moulded foot atop a tall four-sided plinth with cornice and two-tiered base. The plinth bears the inscriptions in leaded lettering.

The inscription is in leaded lettering and reads THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919/ THESE DIED IN WAR/ THAT WE IN PEACE MIGHT LIVE/ THESE GAVE THEIR BEST/ SO WE OUR BEST SHOULD GIVE/ NOT FOR THEMSELVES/ FOR JUSTICE, FREEDOM, RIGHT/ THEY FOUGHT, AND BID/ US FORWARD TO THE FIGHT// IN/ UNDYING MEMORY OF/ (NAMES)// AND OF/ (NAMES)// THE/ WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES).

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 Crosscanonby as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Crosscanonby War Memorial represents the fallen from Crosscanonby and Crosby and was situated within the churchyard. The memorial was unveiled on 26 September 1920 by Major Dykes, DSO. The memorial commemorates 12 local servicemen who fell in the First World War and five men who fell in the Second World War.

Reasons for Listing

Crosscanonby War Memorial, which is situated in St John’s Churchyard, Crosscanonby, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a simple but well-executed granite cross.

Group value:

* with the Grade I-listed Church of St John and the Grade II-listed Crosscanonby Hall.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66479750

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

• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (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]
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)