Sapcote War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial.

Reasons for Designation

Sapcote War Memorial, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reason:
* Historic interest: it is a well detailed memorial that stands 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.

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.

The war memorial in Sapcote commemorates the fallen from the First and Second World Wars. The land was purchased for a cost of £12 10s 0d, and Messrs J. G. Pullen and Sons of Northampton were paid £63 3s 6d for the design and construction of the memorial. The granite wall was erected by E. Simons at a cost of £26 10s 0d and the original railings were made by Mr H. Tansey for £4 5s 10d. These were replaced in the 1950s. The memorial was dedicated on 17 September 1921 by the Venerable F. B. Macnutt, MA, Archdeacon of Leicester, and the unveiling was performed by Lt-Col R E Martin CMG.

On 25 March 1922 there was a separate unveiling of the bronze wreath from returning ex-servicemen. It was dedicated by the Rev W. G. Moore assisted by the Rev Gimblett MA who also gave an address. Mr Henry Livesey unveiled the wreath which had been draped by the Union Jack. It was manufactured and fixed to the memorial by Pullen and Sons for a cost of £15.

Details

First World War memorial.

MATERIALS: granite.

PLAN: the memorial stands within an elevated roadside memorial garden, enclosed on three sides by a hedge, the fourth side being a low stone wall topped by a decorative metal fence and an access gate from the pavement.

EXTERIOR: the memorial has a three-stepped octagonal base surmounted by a square plinth, upon which rests a tapering octagonal column with a decorative collar and floriated wheel-like botonee cross. A small bronze laurel wreath at the base of the column is inscribed in raised lettering: A/ TRIBUTE FROM/ THEIR/ COMRADES/ WHO/ RETURNED/. The front face of the plinth has incised inscriptions infilled with black paint as follows: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN REVERENT AND GRATEFUL/ MEMORY OF THE MEN OF SAPCOTE WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WARS. / 1914 - 1919 1939 - 1945/ GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS THAT/ A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND. The names of the fallen are inscribed on the other faces of the plinth and on an angled wedge-shaped tablet positioned on the upper step.


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, 16 March 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 23 January 2017 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37486
War Memorials Online, accessed 16 March 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/227768

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