Summary
First World War memorial cross, unveiled 1920, with added commemorative plaque and names for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Mayfield War Memorial, which stands on the High Street, 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.
Architectural interest:
* An elegant war memorial cross with a strong visual and compositional association with the south front of the Church of St Dunstan.
Group value:
* With the parish church of St Dunstan (Grade I) and buildings on the High Street including Walnut Tree House and Stone House (Grade II*), Middle House Hotel (Grade I), and numerous Grade II-listed buildings.
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 Mayfield as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 64 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. A local resident who died in 1916 had left a bequest so that the house formerly standing on the plot could be demolished, to open up the entranceway to the parish church: further fundraising enabled this project to be completed, and the war memorial to be erected in the re-designed site.
The memorial was designed by Mr Omar Ramsden of London who also created the bronze elements of the memorial. It was unveiled at a well-attended ecumenical service on 27 November 1920 by General Sir Henry Sclater, and dedicated by Reverend EC Pitt-Johnson. Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate 25 local servicemen who died in that conflict.
Details
MATERIALS: Purbeck stone, bronze plaques.
DESCRIPTION: Mayfield War Memorial stands in a gap between the buildings on the north side of the High Street, in line with the south porch of the Grade I-listed parish Church of St Dunstan. It comprises a cross botonée rising from the moulded collar of a tall, tapering octagonal shaft. The cross shaft’s splayed foot stands on the corniced plinth, octagonal in plan. The plinth stands on three octagonal steps.
A crenellated bronze plaque to the front face of the plinth carries the principal dedicatory inscription. Beneath a wreath, the dedication reads IN EVER-GRATEFUL/ MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF/ MAYFIELD/ WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR KING/ AND COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ IN THE MORNING WE/ WILL REMEMBER AND/ AT THE GOING DOWN/ OF THE SUN WE WILL/ NOT FORGET. Commemorated names are recorded on the plinth’s other faces, incised into the stone below small bronze wreaths fixed to the top of each face. A bronze plaque has been added to base which reads AND OF THOSE WHO/FELL IN THE WORLD WAR/ 1939-1945, with names on the adjacent faces.
The cross is surrounded by a crazy-paving pavement, with rubble stone retaining walls on three sides.
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, 29 January 2018.
