Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial

Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, St Nicolas Parish Church, Vicarage Street, Nuneaton, West Midlands, CV11 4AZ

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Overview

First World War memorial. Erected in between 1919 and 1939. Architect unknown.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1444661
Date first listed:
06-Apr-2017
List Entry Name:
Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial
Statutory Address:
Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, St Nicolas Parish Church, Vicarage Street, Nuneaton, West Midlands, CV11 4AZ
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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1444661
Date first listed:
06-Apr-2017
List Entry Name:
Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:
Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, St Nicolas Parish Church, Vicarage Street, Nuneaton, West Midlands, CV11 4AZ

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

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

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

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

Location

Statutory Address:
Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, St Nicolas Parish Church, Vicarage Street, Nuneaton, West Midlands, CV11 4AZ

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

County:
Warwickshire
District:
Nuneaton and Bedworth (District Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
SP3651891646

Summary

First World War memorial. Erected in between 1919 and 1939. Architect unknown.

Reasons for Designation

The Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial, which stands in the grounds of St Nicolas 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 sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: a Latin wheel cross on a tall limestone shaft;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of St Nicolas and Grade II-listed Old Grammar School.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw an unprecedented wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country. One such memorial was erected in the grounds of the Vicarage Street School, to commemorate former pupils who fell in the conflict.
The memorial was moved in 1985, following the closure of the school, to the grounds of St Nicolas’ Church, and was renovated at the same time. The monument shaft was broken when it was struck by a tree during works to the churchyard in 2014. The shaft was repaired like-for-like.

Details

First World War memorial. Erected in between 1919 and 1939. Architect unknown.
MATERIALS: Carved from limestone.
DESCRIPTION: The Vicarage Street Church School War Memorial is located within the churchyard of St Nicolas (Grade I-Listed).
It consists of a limestone Latin wheel cross with decorated collar. The cross sits on an octagonal shaft which rises from a cross-shaped plinth on a two-stepped base.
The inscriptions on the plinth read: + REMEMBER BEFORE GOD + / THE SOULS OF THE MASTERS AND OF THE OLD BOYS / OF THE VICARAGE STREET CHURCH SCHOOL NUNEATON / WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918 / "MAY THEY REST IN PEACE" / (NAMES) / THE MEMORIAL WAS REMOVED TO THE CHURCHYARD AND RESTORED IN 1985 / RE-DEDICATED TO THE FALLEN OF THE 1939 - 1945 WAR AND SINCE / FROM THIS COMMUNITY / THEY ARE AT PEACE NOW / "LORD MAKE US INSTRUMENTS OF YOUR PEACE".
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 5 June 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 5 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/19159
War Memorials Online, accessed 5 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/165154
Details of the damage to the cross from Nuneaton News, accessed 6 February 2017 from www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/storm-battered-church-tree-felled-lands-world-war/story-20631331-detail/story.html#ixzz2tJZBYAjx
Details of the repaired cross from Nuneaton News, accessed 6 February 2017 from www.nuneaton-news.co.uk/timely-return-memorial/story-24328761-detail/story.html

Legal

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

Ordnance survey map of Old Boys of Vicarage Street School War Memorial

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 17-Jun-2026 at 13:37:37.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

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.

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