Eynsham War Memorial

Eynsham War Memorial, The Square, Adjacent to St Leonards Church, Eynsham, Oxfordshire, OX29 4HW

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

First and Second World War memorial. Erected in 1921 with the names of the Fallen of the Second World War added after 1945. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1448172
Date first listed:: 11-Jul-2017
List Entry Name:: Eynsham War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Eynsham War Memorial, The Square, Adjacent to St Leonards Church, Eynsham, Oxfordshire, OX29 4HW

The Missing Pieces Project

Share your view of unique places.

Add your contribution

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1448172
Date first listed:: 11-Jul-2017
List Entry Name:: Eynsham War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Eynsham War Memorial, The Square, Adjacent to St Leonards Church, Eynsham, Oxfordshire, OX29 4HW

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

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

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:: Eynsham War Memorial, The Square, Adjacent to St Leonards Church, Eynsham, Oxfordshire, OX29 4HW

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

County:: Oxfordshire
District:: West Oxfordshire (District Authority)
Parish:: Eynsham
National Grid Reference:: SP4330509238

Summary

First and Second World War memorial. Erected in 1921 with the names of the Fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

Reasons for Designation

Eynsham War Memorial, erected in 1921, 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20; * Design: a granite wheel headed cross bearing a bronze longsword mounted point downwards, reminiscent of Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice; * Group value: with the Church of St Leonard (Grade II*), the scheduled market cross, the Red Lion (Grade II), the Bartholomew Room (Grade II) and the Grade II listed houses around The Square.

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, 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.

One such memorial was unveiled at Eynsham on 2 April 1921, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It commemorates 50 local servicemen who died during the First World War – 17% of the population of the village. The memorial also names 3 members of the Eynsham Morris Men. Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate the 18 fallen of that conflict. The land the memorial is located on was purchased through a subscription fund from the nearby public house.

The memorial was conserved in 2008 with the help of grant aid from War Memorials Trust.

Details

First World War memorial. Erected in 1921. Architect unknown.

MATERIALS: granite memorial cross with bronze sword and lead lettering.

DESCRIPTION: Eynsham War Memorial comprises a granite wheel-headed cross with a bronze reversed sword on its front face. The cross rises from a tapering shaft which sits on a square plinth and two stepped base.

The front face of the plinth carries the main dedication TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND / IN PROUD MEMORY OF / THE FOLLOWING OFFICERS / NON – COMMISSIONED OFFICERS / AND MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918 / “DYING AND BEHOLD WE LIVE” / (NAMES) / AND 1939 – 1945. On the two sides of the plinth and the front faces of the steps are the names of the fallen.

Sources

Books and journals
Chandler, K, Morris Dancing in the English South Midlands, 1660 - 1900, (1993), 158 - 162
Golby, J, '"Oh What A Lovely War": Patriotism And Recruitment In Eynsham, August – December 1914' in Eynsham Record, , Vol. 23, (2006), 16-20
Websites
History of Eynsham Morris Men, from the Eynsham Morris Men website, accessed 9 June 2017 from http://www.eynshammorris.org.uk/Early_20th_century.php
Information from Eynsham Parish Council, accessed 8 June 2017 from http://eynsham-pc.gov.uk/org.aspx?n=Eynsham-Heritage&id=984
Information from the War Memorials Trust, accessed 8 June 2017 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=489
War Memorials Online, accessed 8 June 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/92781/
War Memorials Register, accessed 8 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/31536

Legal

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