Summary
First World War memorial, 1920, with additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Caythorpe Memorial Cross, which stands on Church Lane, 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20 and C21;
* Architectural interest: a sensitive adaption of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice;
* Group value: with the Parish Church of St Vincent (Grade I) and numerous designated assets in close proximity.
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 the country. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Caythorpe as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Caythorpe Memorial Cross was unveiled on 10 October 1920. It is modeled on Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice and was supplied by Messrs HT Jenkins and Sons, marble merchants of Torquay, at a cost of £240. The unveiling ceremony followed a service in the Parish Church of St Vincent (Grade I) conducted by Reverend Frederick Markland Percy Sherrifs BA: the memorial was unveiled by Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Royds MP, of Stubton Hall near Newark. The Last Post was played by two buglers from RAF Cranwell. The names of 23 who died in the First World War are inscribed on a tablet on the curved wall behind the memorial. After the Second World War an additional tablet was added to the memorial recording four names. Two further tablets were added for those who died in Iraq in 2003 and 2005.
Details
The war memorial is located on a green to the west of the entrance to the churchyard of the Grade I-listed Parish Church of St Vincent, and stands south of a stone wall, which curves in a semi-circle around the memorial. The War Memorial faces south, and is enclosed by ornamental metal posts carrying a spiked chain.
The Portland Stone memorial is modeled on Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice, with differences in the treatment of the foot of the cross shaft and the pedestal. It stands on an octagonal platform, with an octagonal base, octagonal pedestal, and Latin cross. A reversed sword in bronze is fixed to the front face of the cross.
The principal dedicatory inscription, in black lettering on the front of the pedestal and running onto the base below, reads: IN/ GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF MEN OF THIS/ PARISH WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES FOR/ THEIR COUNTRY/ 1914-1919/ ALSO/ 1939-45. Three stone tablets are fixed to the base. The first, on the front of the memorial, has the inscription 1939-1945/ (4 NAMES). Two additional tablets are fixed on the face of the base to the east. Each records one name. The uppermost has the inscription IRAQ 2003, whilst the one below reads IRAQ 2005.
The curved wall to the rear of the memorial is in coursed stone with brick coping. The stone plaque fixed to the wall reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY 1914 – 1919 / (23 NAMES).
