Ramsbury War Memorial

High Street, Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2QP

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

First World War memorial with further names added after the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1437832
Date first listed:: 13-Sep-2016
List Entry Name:: Ramsbury War Memorial
Statutory Address:: High Street, Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2QP

User submitted image — Uploaded by David Lovell This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1437832
Date first listed:: 13-Sep-2016
List Entry Name:: Ramsbury War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: High Street, Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2QP

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: High Street, Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2QP

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Wiltshire (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Ramsbury
National Grid Reference:: SU2736871542

Summary

First World War memorial with further names added after the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Ramsbury War Memorial 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 yet dignified limestone memorial cross; * Group value: with the Church of the Holy Cross (Grade I) and 27 High Street opposite (Grade II).

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England, 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.

One such memorial was raised at Ramsbury as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

It commemorates 65 local servicemen who died during the First World War. Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate the nine fallen of that conflict.

In 2012 the memorial was conserved with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.

Details

MATERIALS: limestone.

DESCRIPTION: Ramsbury War Memorial consists of a plain Latin cross with tapering shaft rising from a tapered plinth and two-stepped base.

The inscription is incised and painted black on the front face of the plinth and reads REMEMBER/ THE MEN OF RAMSBURY/ WHO DIED IN THE/ GREAT WARS/ TRUE LOVE BY LIFE, TRUE LOVE BY DEATH, IS TRIED:/ LIVE THOU FOR ENGLAND, THESE FOR ENGLAND DIED. Two of the other faces of the plinth are incised with the names of the fallen from the First World War.

The fourth face of the plinth is inscribed: 1939-1945 and underneath are nine names of those who lost their lives in the Second World War.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 12/07/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/99967
War Memorials Register, accessed 12/07/2016 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/24163
War Memorials Trust, accessed 12 July 2016 from www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=963

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.