Cambridge Gas Company War Memorial

Summary

War memorial, unveiled in 1921, and dedicated to the fallen of the First World War and Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Cambridge Gas Company War Memorial, which stands to the north of Newmarket Road, 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 architecturally distinct and well-executed memorial.

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 Cambridge Gas Company war memorial was erected in 1921 in memory of eighteen employees of the company who fell in the First World War (1914-18). The war memorial is shown on the 1927 Ordnance Survey map to the south of the gas works, near the entrance from Newmarket Road, with a garden to the east. The names of six employees were added to the memorial following the Second World War (1939-45), and a tennis court and a bowling green were installed in the gardens to the east of the memorial c1950. The domed roof of the cupola was formerly surmounted by a ball finial and metal cross, no longer present.

The former gasworks were demolished c2000, and permission was granted for the construction of a commercial building and car park on the site of the former gasworks. The war memorial was relocated approximately 30m to the south at this time as a result of a Condition on the Notice of Decision by Cambridge City Council permitting the construction of the car park. The metal screen which now stands behind the memorial was formed from the salvaged gates to the former gasworks. In addition, the granite setts and large stone slabs which now form the paved court to Newmarket Road, previously formed the industrial roadway into the gasworks, were salvaged and reused when the war memorial was relocated.

Details

The Cambridge Gas Company war memorial is a free-standing monument, erected in 1921, and takes the form of an octagonal cupola with scalloped niches under a domed roof. The cupola stands on a square-plan plinth, the upper section of which is carved with festoons of roses and leaves in relief. An inscription on the south-east elevation of the plinth reads: ‘IN REMEMBRANCE OF / OUR FELLOW WORKERS / WHO FELL IN THE / GREAT WAR / 1914-1918’, followed by eighteen names of the fallen. An inscription on the north-west elevation of the plinth reads: ‘THE EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYED / OF THE CAMBRIDGE GAS COMPANY / ERECTED THIS MONUMENT IN / REMEMBRANCE OF THEIR COMRADES / 1921’. An inscription was added to the north-east elevation of the plinth c1945 and reads: ‘ALSO / IN REMEMBRANCE OF / THOSE WHO FELL IN THE / SECOND WORLD WAR / 1939-1945‘, followed by six names of the fallen. The memorial measures approximately 1.2 metres square, and approximately 3.5 metres in height. The monument stands at the north-west end of a paved court to the north of Newmarket Road.

The metal screen behind the war memorial, and the granite and stone setts in the paved court to Newmarket Road are not included in the listing.

Sources

Websites
Roll of Honour, accessed 9 July 2015 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/CambridgeGasCompany.html
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 July 2015 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/902
War Memorials Online, accessed 13 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/213218

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