Scremby with Grebby War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1921.

Reasons for Designation

Scremby with Grebby War Memorial, which stands in the 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War.

Architectural interest:

* a simple memorial cross incorporating the reversed sword symbol of sacrifice, and which, not having been adapted for Second World War commemoration, retains its original design intent.

Group value:

* with the Church of St Peter and St Paul (Grade II*-listed) and the Old Rectory (Grade II).

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 Scremby as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the communities of Scremby and Grebby who lost their lives in the First World War.

The war memorial was unveiled on 3rd April 1921 to commemorate the six local men who died during the First World War. It was built by the monumental masons Messrs E Browning and Sons of Spilsby for a sum of £93, raised by public subscription. The memorial was unveiled by Major Edward Devon Newman following a special service in the church attended by parishioners, ex-servicemen and relatives of those who had died.

Messrs Browning and Sons of Spilsby were responsible for a number of war memorials in Lincolnshire, including those at Fishtoft, East Kirkby and Stickney (all Grade II).

Details

The war memorial stands beside the churchyard path to the north-east of the Church of St Peter and St Paul (Grade II*), opposite the Old Rectory (Grade II). It is a plain stone Latin cross with a reversed sword carved in low relief on the front face of the cross shaft. The cross-shaft, square in section, rises from a square plinth and two-stepped, octagonal, base.

The memorial inscription is incised on the northern and eastern faces of the plinth, with the names of those who died carved on the western face. On the northern face the inscription reads THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED IN THANKFUL/ REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE FROM THIS/ PARISH WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED/ AND ALSO OF ALL THOSE WHO FOUGHT/ AND DIED FOR ENGLAND/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. The inscription on the eastern face reads YE THAT LIVE ON/ MIDST ENGLAND'S PASTURES GREEN/ REMEMBER US AND THINK/ WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.

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, 10 January 2018.

Sources

Books and journals
Credland, M, The First World War Memorials of Lincolnshire, (2014), p20, p153

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 10 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/255072

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