Summary
Leiston War Memorial, unveiled in 1919 and dedicated to the fallen of the First World War with later inscriptions added to commemorate those who fell in the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Leiston War Memorial, erected 1919 and set within the grounds of the Church of St Margaret, 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 a fine example of a Calvary cross memorial designed by a prominent local artist, Dorothy Anne Aldrich Rope, in the Arts & Crafts style;
* Group value: for the strong group value it holds with the adjacent Grade II* listed Church of St Margaret.
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.
Leiston War Memorial was unveiled on 5 October 1919, dedicated to the memory of 116 local men who fell in the First World War (1914-18). The designer of the memorial was Dorothy Anne Aldrich Rope (1883-1970), a renowned local artist born at Blaxhall in Suffolk who grew up in Leiston. Rope was a notable Arts & Crafts sculptor who exhibited frequently at venues including the Royal Academy, the Society of Women Artists and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (London), along with the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. Rope was one of several notable female Arts & Crafts Movement sculptors, plaster designers and stained glass artists from the Leiston and Blaxhall family, who also included her Aunt, Ellen Mary Rope (1855-1934), with whom Dorothy trained and later worked. Along with the Leiston war memorial, which is set in the grounds of the Church of St Margaret (listed Grade II*; NHLE 1287648), Dorothy Rope also designed a beaten silver memorial which is displayed inside the church, this along with other works by her sister, the noted Arts & Crafts stained-glass window designer, Margaret Edith Rope (1891-1988).
Following the Second World War (1939-45), the names of 42 of the fallen from the conflict were added to the memorial. In addition to this number are the names of four civilians who died as a result separate enemy aerial attacks on Leiston in May and October 1941.
Details
Leiston War Memorial, erected in 1919 (with Second World War inscriptions added) and set immediately to the north-east of the Church of St Margaret. The monument was completed to the designs of Dorothy Anne Aldrich Rope (1883-1970).
MATERIALS: stone monument with affixed cast-bronze sculptural work.
PLAN: square in plan-form.
DESCRIPTION: Leiston War Memorial is set in a prominent position adjacent to the north door of the Church of St Margaret. The memorial takes the form of a simple stone Calvary cross with an Arts & Crafts style affixed bronze sculpture of the crucified Christ with a cross pattée halo. The cross is set on a tapered rectangular plinth and platform, enclosed by a low-set, square, stone boundary. At the base of the cross, on each of the four sides, are decorative foliate cast bronze details, the frontal portion embellished with a central chalice flanked by the dates of the conflict ‘1914’ and ‘1918’ on an open scroll. The frontal face of the memorial’s plinth carries an inscription enclosed within a carved laurel wreath which reads: ‘TO / THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN HONOUR OF ALL / FROM THIS PARISH WHO / HAVE OFFERED THEMSELVES / AT THEIR COUNTRYS NEED / AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF / THOSE WHO IN MANY LANDS / AND ON MANY SEAS HAVE / LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES’. The names of the 116 who fell in the First World War are recorded in red lettering on three rectangular tablets on the side and rear faces of the plinth.
Following the Second World War further carved inscriptions were added to the lower portion of the plinth (below the tablets) to commemorate 42 of the fallen from this conflict along with four civilians who were killed in Leiston by enemy action. These names, like those of the First World War tablets above, are inscribed and picked-out in red, as are the dates of both conflicts, which were added to the four corners of the frontal elevation of the plinth at this time.
