Rowlands Castle War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial obelisk, unveiled 1919, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Rowland's Castle War Memorial, which stands in a garden to the south of St John’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 tall and elegant memorial obelisk standing in a small memorial garden.

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 at Rowland's Castle as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Built by Mr Wilkin at a cost of £245, the memorial was unveiled by Admiral O’Callaghan and dedicated by the Suffragan Bishop of Southampton on 2 November 1919. It commemorates 30 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The 18 names of those who died in the Second World War were later added on the east and western facing sides of the memorial.

Details

The granite memorial stands in a small garden at the southern end of the churchyard of St John the Baptist Church (unlisted), at the junction of B2148 and B2149. It takes the form of a tall stone obelisk on a tapering plinth that bears inscribed marble plaques with black lettering on all four sides. The plinth stands on a two-stage base, square on plan, which is on a square stone platform.

The principal dedicatory inscription on the south-facing side of the plinth reads: ERECTED/ IN/ GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS DISTRICT/ WHOSE NAMES/ ARE INSCRIBED HEREON/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1919. A plaque below this on the upper stage of the base was added after the Second World War and reads: IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ THE NAMES ARE ADDED OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ 1939 – 1945.

The west- and east-facing sides of the plinth record the 30 names, with rank and regiment, of the men who died in the First World War. Below these, on the upper stage of the base, are rectangular plaques recording the names of 18 men who died in the Second World War. The inscription on the north-facing plaque on the plinth reads: GREATER/ LOVE/ HATH NO MAN/ THAN THIS/ THAT HE LAY/ DOWN/ HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS.

The memorial garden is enclosed to the rear by tall hedges and to the front by a dwarf wall, and the memorial is accessible from both the main road, and from a footpath through the churchyard by a small gate. It stands on a low mound at the centre of the garden, with two benches*, commemorating those that worked for the memorial’s upkeep, to either side of the garden. The dwarf wall, of flint with brick piers and brick coping, includes two stones let into either side of the path recording the memorial’s dedication with the inscription: THIS MONUMENT IS A SACRED TRUST TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD, / TO BE CARED FOR AND CHERISHED FOR ALL TIME / DEDICATED 2 NOVEMBER 1919.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest.

Sources

Websites
St John's Church, Rowlands Castle, accessed 8 June 2017 from https://www.saintjohnschurch.org.uk/about-us/History
War Memorials Register, accessed 8 June 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/21184
War Memorials Online, accessed 8 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/169849
Roll of Honour, Rowlands Castle, accessed 8 June 2017 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Hampshire/RowlandsCastle.html

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