Mousehole Cenotaph

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Mousehole Cenotaph, at North Cliff, Mousehole, 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: a simple but well-executed obelisk in a local stone, standing in a prominent position;
* Group value: with the Grade II*-listed Harbour Piers and Walls, and a number of Grade II-listed buildings fronting the harbour.

History

A war memorial committee was formed on 12 April 1919 with the chairman remarking that, because lives had been sacrificed in the open, then Mousehole’s memorial should also be in the open. Early proposals for a bronze statue of Liberty (incorporating a public convenience) and a Cornish cross, were dropped due to a lack of funds.

The memorial was unveiled by Mrs Bolitho (the widow of the late Colonel W E T Bolitho of Trevelloe) and dedicated by the vicar, Reverend F J Prideaux, at a ceremony held on 18 December 1920. It cost £410, of which c £40 remained to be raised after the unveiling. The memorial commemorates c 400 local men who served, of whom 36 died, during the First World War.

The architect was F G Drewitt of Cowell, Drewitt and Wheatly of Penzance (also responsible for the St Ives War Memorial) and the builders were Messrs W H Snell and Son (responsible for the construction of a number of war memorials, most of which are in Cornwall). Following the Second World War an inscription was added to commemorate those who served and died in that conflict.

Details

This List entry has been amended to add sources for further reading (13/12/2016)

The memorial stands in a commanding position at the centre of the western arc of the harbour wall (Grade II*-listed), standing on a buttress above a slipway. Of grey granite, quarried nearby in the hamlet of Sheffield, it comprises a tapering obelisk, rectangular on plan, with a carved laurel wreath decorating its top stage. A simple representation of a cenotaph surmounts the obelisk. The memorial has a heavy base with vertical fluting and a carved laurel wreath on each face.

Inscribed on the front face of the obelisk is TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THE THIRTY-SIX/ WHO MADE THE/ SUPREME SACRIFICE/ AND OF ALL THOSE/ WHO SERVED IN/ THE GREAT WAR/1914-1919/ ALSO/ IN REMEMBRANCE/ OF THOSE WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES AND THOSE/ WHO SERVED IN/ 1939-1945.

Two low granite pillars linked by a chain stand to the front of the cenotaph.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 30/11/2015 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/9355
War Memorials Online, accessed 13/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/144010

Other
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 16 April 1919, p8
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 23 July 1919, p1
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 20 August 1919, p4
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 16 June 1920, p5
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 4 August 1920, p8
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 22 December 1920, p6
The Cornishman and Cornish Telegraph, 3 August 1921, p8

End of official list entry

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