Haggerston All Saints War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, c1920.

Reasons for Designation

Haggerston All Saints War Memorial, in the churchyard of All Saints Church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historical 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: as a simple yet well-executed stone memorial cross;
* Group value: having a close physical and functional relationship with the adjacent Grade II-listed Church of All Saints and in close proximity to a number of other listed buildings within Albion Square.

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 in the grounds of All Saints Church, Haggerston, then also known as All Saints Stonebridge, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Parish records, deposited in the London Metropolitan Archive (see P91/ALL/051), indicate that on 17 May 1920 an order was issued for the erection of a 'marble war memorial cross' in the churchyard of All Saints. Subsequently, the memorial was erected to the W of the church, although the exact date of its erection and unveiling is currently unknown.

Details

First World War memorial, erected c1920.

MATERIALS: stone.

DESCRIPTION: Haggerston All Saints War Memorial is located within the churchyard of All Saints, Haggerston Road, Hackney. It stands facing W, adjacent to the porch at the W gable-end of the church, N of the short path which leads SW to Haggerston Road and the adjacent Stonebridge Common.

The stone memorial consists of a stepped square plinth and base surmounted by a Latin cross. The plinth being of five stages stands atop a square-plan single-stone step which forms the base. There is an instep with a chamfered ledge after each stage of the plinth, the fourth stage having both a moulded skirting and cornice, the fifth, being the uppermost, has a moulded cornice and battered sides, the others being otherwise smooth-dressed single stones.

The inscription is in applied lead lettering, being located on the W side of the memorial and is divided over the second and third stages of its plinth, reading:

'TO THE GREATER GLORY OF GOD / AND IN PROUD / AND THANKFUL MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF / THIS CHURCH AND PARISH / WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN / THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1919.'

A shaft of tapering octagonal section rises from the plinth to a two-stage moulded collar directly beneath the cross head which takes the form of a Latin cross. The vertical arm of the cross head is also of tapering section but square in plan, save for a low raised cross detail to both W and E sides. There are heavy projecting nailhead finials at the top and at the two ends of the crossbar.

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, 31 January 2018.

Sources

Websites
London Metropolitan Archives: All Saints, Haggerston, Haggerston Road, Hackney (P91/ALL), accessed 14 February 2017 from http://search.lma.gov.uk/LMA_DOC/P91_ALL.PDF
War Memorials Register, accessed 6 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/32478
War Memorials Online, accessed 31 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253223

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