Gate Piers, Steps, Walls and War Memorial Lychgate

Summary

Late-C18 or early-C19 gate piers and steps to the churchyard with walls and a War Memorial lychgate of 1922.

Reasons for Designation

Gate Piers, Steps, Walls and War Memorial Lychgate, Wellington are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as a late-C18 or early-C19 pair of stone gate piers that form an important element of the historic churchyard;
* 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:

* as a well-articulated pair of churchyard gate piers with good detailing;
* as a well-designed and constructed war memorial in the form of a lychgate;
* the stone steps and walls provide a good set of structures that complete the grouping.

Group value:

* the structures all have group value with the Grade II* listed Church of All Saints and a number of Grade II listed buildings on Church Street and Market Square.

History

The Church of All Saints was constructed to a neoclassical design by George Steuart in 1788-90. The gate piers to the south-west entrance, also neoclassical, probably date from this period along with the flight of steps to the churchyard. Walls to the steps and a lychgate were added in 1922 following the First World War as part of the biggest single wave of public commemoration. Tens of thousands of memorials were erected across England as a 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.

The War Memorial lychgate was raised at Wellington as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It was unveiled on 6 May 1922 by the Member of Parliament for Wrekin Major General Sir Charles V F Townsend KCB CB DSO. The names of parishioners who fell during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial with additional bronze plaques fixed within the lychgate.

Details

Gate piers of late-C18 or early-C19 date with steps, and walls and War Memorial lychgate of 1922.

MATERIALS: the gate piers and steps are constructed of stone. The lychgate is constructed of timber and ashlar with stone steps and piers. The lychgate roof is covered in clay tiles and the floor is laid with flagstones.

DESCRIPTION: comprising two stone gate piers with panelled shafts below a frieze, moulded cornice and hemispherical caps. There are seven stone steps to the War Memorial lychgate that are lined by splayed ashlar walls with coping and steel handrails.

The lychgate is rectangular on plan with gabled entrances addressing the road (south-west) and church (north-east). It has low ashlar walls and piers with moulded caps, coping and plinths. The four corner piers support the pegged timber-framed walls and roof with round arches to the entrances and some decorative moulded elements. The road-facing arch is inscribed: THESE ARE THEY WHICH CAME OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION. The church-facing arch is inscribed: GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. To each side of the road front entrance, a timber column with Ionic capitals and floreate detailing supports the jettied gable end, which has WELLINGTON TOWN WAR MEMORIAL inscribed on the moulded eaves. The gable facing the church has a cross to the apex.

The upper level of the interior walls has fixed bronze plaques. Two plaques to the south-west wall read: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND/ IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE FOLLOWING WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SERVICE OF THE EMPIRE DURING/ THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918/ AND IN THANKFULNESS TO ALMIGHTY GOD/ FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF OTHERS/ (NAMES). A smaller plaque fixed between them reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN/ THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY/ (NAMES)/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES DURING/ THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945/ (NAMES). A central upper plaque to the northeast wall reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND/ IN MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING/ WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN/ THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY/ (NAMES)/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING WHO/ LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES DURING/ THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945/ (NAMES).


This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 05/06/2019

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

362419

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
UK National Inventory of War Memorials - Wellington, accessed 16/04/2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/13911
War Memorials Online - Wellington Lychgate, accessed 16/04/2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/193342/

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