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Latitude: 50.2722 / 50°16'19"N
Longitude: -5.0341 / 5°2'2"W
OS Eastings: 183895
OS Northings: 45763
OS Grid: SW838457
Mapcode National: GBR ZH.6T11
Mapcode Global: FRA 08B9.YCT
Plus Code: 9C2P7XC8+V9
Entry Name: St Clement War Memorial, Truro
Listing Date: 13 September 2019
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1466271
ID on this website: 101466271
Location: Cornwall, TR1
County: Cornwall
Civil Parish: Truro
Built-Up Area: Truro
Traditional County: Cornwall
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Cornwall
Tagged with: War memorial
A First World War memorial, built after 1919.
A First World War memorial, built after 1919.
MATERIALS
Granite, lead.
DESCRIPTION
The memorial stands on the east side of a crossroads to the north of Truro city where Tregolls Road, Union Hill (A390), the A39 and Belvedere meet.
The memorial is a wheel-head Celtic cross with carved knotwork to the head and rectangular shaft. The head comprises ‘triqueta’ patterns within the arms and scroll decoration on the shaft on the west face. The other faces are plain. The cross stands on a cushion-shaped and tapering plinth on a flat base. The front (west) face bears the commemoration of the 14 men lost in the First World War under the inscription ST CLEMENT / TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR / HONOUR & RIGHT / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918. Below the list of names is the inscription BEING DEAD YET SPEAK. The lettering is in lead.
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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at St Clement parish, to the north of Truro, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 14 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Nothing is known about the construction of the war memorial, but its similarity to the memorial at Cardinham would suggest that it is by the same maker and erected after 1919.
St Clement War Memorial, Truro 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:
* for its design, a well-executed Celtic cross.
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