The war memorial cross outside All Saints' Church, Streetly

Summary

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

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial cross at All Saints’ Church, Streetly, which stands to the west of the church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a large Celtic cross incorporating a crucifixion by the sculptor Thomas Mewburn Crook.

History

The memorial cross at All Saints’ Church, by the sculptor Thomas Mewburn Crook, was unveiled in June 1920 at a ceremony attended by the Suffragan Bishop of Stafford. It commemorates 26 local servicemen who died during the First World War. Following the Second World War the details of a further 15 men who died in that conflict were added. In August 2002, funds for restoring the memorial were raised by local residents.

Thomas Mewburn Crook (1869-1949) was born in Bolton, Lancashire. He studied at the Manchester Technical School and the Royal College of Art, and was appointed modeling master and lecturer in anatomy at the Manchester School of Art in 1896. His numerous works include church furniture, panels, and paintings and he was responsible for a number of war memorials including the cross at St Saviour’s Church, Raynes Park (Grade II) and that at St Lawrence’s, Caterham, and the marble statue of Sir Thomas Picton in City Hall, Cardiff. One of his last commissions, unveiled in 1941 at New Malden Library (Grade II), was for nine panels depicting divisions of the Dewey decimal classification system.

Details

The Portland stone memorial stands in the churchyard, to the west of All Saints’ Church. It comprises the figure of Christ crucified on a large wheel-head cross. The cross rises from a pedestal with a shallow two-stepped base, that stands on two steps and a concrete base.

An inscription on the front face of the cross shaft, below the crucifixion, reads 1939 - 1945/ (15 NAMES). Below this on the pedestal a wreath carved in relief encloses the dates 1939 – 1945 and a small stone plaque on the pedestal base reads GREATER LOVE/ HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. A similar wreath to the rear of the pedestal encloses 1914 – 1918 and the names of 26 local servicemen who died in the First World War are listed on the side faces.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 17 January 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 22/02/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/17631
University of Glasgow, Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, accessed 22/02/2016 from http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1207215317&search=Crook
Sutton Coldfield Observer, online edition (02/08/2002), accessed 22/02/2016 from http://blackcountryhistory.org/collections/getrecord/WAHER_MBL1423/
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/171121

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