St Giles' War Memorial

Summary

War memorial, designed by Bodley and Hare, unveiled in 1920, and dedicated to the fallen of the First World War.

Reasons for Designation

St Giles War Memorial, which stands at the corner of Church Street and Chesterton Lane, 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;
* Design: as an elegant, architecturally refined and well-executed memorial, designed by the architectural practice of Bodley and Hare;
* Group value: for the strong group value it holds with a number of designated assets, including the Church of St Giles, 1 Northampton Street, and Cory House, all listed at Grade II*, the scheduled remains of Cambridge Castle, and the gardens of St John’s College, registered at Grade II*.

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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.

The St Giles war memorial was erected in memory of the fallen of the First World War (1914-18), although it interestingly is dated 1914-19, possibly interpreting the Treaty of Versailles as the end of the First World War, instead of Armistice Day. The crucifix was designed by the practice of Bodley and Hare, and was unveiled and dedicated by the Bishop of Ely on 17 November 1920. Cecil Greenwood Hare (1975-1932) was a partner of the esteemed English Gothic Revival architect George Frederick Bodley (1827-1907), and Hare took over the practice following Bodley’s death in 1907. The war memorial is prominently located at the corner of Castle Street and Chesterton Lane, within the boundary wall of the Church of St Giles, a C12 church rebuilt in the late C19 (listed at Grade II*).

Details

The St Giles war memorial, designed by the architectural practice of Bodley and Hare, takes the form of a Portland stone crucifix mounted on a square-plan plinth and an octagonal-plan two-stepped base. The south-west elevation of the cross to the corner of Castle Street and Chesterton Lane bears a bronze figure of Christ. The north-west, north-east, and south-east elevations of the plinth each bear a cast bronze plaque listing the names of seventy-four local men who fell in the First World War (1914-18). The south-west elevation of the plinth bears an inscription which reads: ’IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD / JESUS CHRIST THIS CROSS / IS SET UP AS A MEMORIAL / OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 / REMEMBER THEM IN YOUR / PRAYERS AND YOUR LIVES’. The memorial stands in the churchyard of St. Giles’ Church (listed at Grade II*), at the corner of Castle Street and Chesterton Lane.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, Nikolaus, Bradley, Simon, The Buildings of England: Cambridgeshire, (2013), 291

Websites
Roll of Honour, accessed 8 July 2015 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/CambridgeStGiles.html
The Yorkshire Regiment – First World War Remembrance, accessed 8 July 2015 from http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/html-files/cambridge-st-giles.htm
War Memorials Register, accessed 8 July 2015 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/3451
War Memorials Online, accessed 8 July 2015 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/194326

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