Summary
First World War memorial, 1920.
Reasons for Designation
Haswell War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of St Paul’s 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War;
* Degree of survival: unusually, the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration and thus retains its original design intent.
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. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also 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 Haswell as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Details
The tall, polished grey granite memorial stands in the churchyard of St Paul’s Church (unlisted). It takes the form of a small Latin cross standing on the corniced top of a large, tapering pedestal. The pedestal stands on a two-stepped base (a granite upper step, whilst the lower is concrete). The plain entablature below the cornice is decorated with lightly incised patterns which are repeated below, above the inscriptions.
End of official list entry
