Alwington War Memorial Cross

Summary

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

Reasons for Designation

Alwington War Memorial Cross, which stands in St Andrew's churchyard, 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 simple yet poignant memorial cross in Dartmoor granite;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of St Andrew and other designated assets in the churchyard.

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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

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

The Alwington memorial cross was unveiled on 24 February 1920 by the Suffragan Bishop of Crediton. It commemorates 11 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The memorial cost £100. Following the Second World War the name of one soldier who died in that conflict was added.

Details

The Dartmoor granite memorial stands in the churchyard to the south of the Church of St Andrew (Grade I-listed) and opposite the listed and scheduled medieval churchyard cross socket stone. It takes the form of a tall cross with a Maltese cross head. The granite is rough-hewn, with finely finished arisses. The monogram IHS is carved to the centre of the cross head. The cross shaft stands on a four-stepped, octagonal, base.

The dedication begins on the front face of the uppermost stage of the base and continues on the stages below, reading R.I.P./ TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE MEN OF ALWINGTON WHO DIED FOR KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE/ERECTED BY THE PARISHIONERS/ (11 NAMES)/ ALSO IN MEMORY OF ARTHUR W BLIGHT WHO FELL IN/ WORLD WAR 1939-1945.

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, 23 November 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 03/01/2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/2895
Devon Heritage, War Memorials, accessed 03/01/2017 from http://www.devonheritage.org/Places/Alwington/Alwington1914-1918WarMemorial.htm
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253724

Other
“Alwington”, North Devon Journal, 26 February 1920, p8

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry