Twycross War Memorial

Village Green, Junction of Main Road (A444) with Sheepy Road (B4116), Twycross, Leicestershire, CV9 3PL

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

Overview

First World War memorial, unveiled 16 November 1919, with Second World War addition. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1455059
Date first listed:: 04-Apr-2018
List Entry Name:: Twycross War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Village Green, Junction of Main Road (A444) with Sheepy Road (B4116), Twycross, Leicestershire, CV9 3PL

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.

Not all listed places are appearing on this map. We are investigating this issue and will have a fix in place as soon as we can. Updated: 6 February 2025.

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:: 1455059
Date first listed:: 04-Apr-2018
List Entry Name:: Twycross War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Village Green, Junction of Main Road (A444) with Sheepy Road (B4116), Twycross, Leicestershire, CV9 3PL

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:: Village Green, Junction of Main Road (A444) with Sheepy Road (B4116), Twycross, Leicestershire, CV9 3PL

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

County:: Leicestershire
District:: Hinckley and Bosworth (District Authority)
Parish:: Twycross
National Grid Reference:: SK3369004934

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 16 November 1919, with Second World War addition.

Reasons for Designation

Twycross War Memorial, which is situated on the village green at the junction of Main Road with Sheepy Road, 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:

* a well-executed wheel-head cross memorial with carved Sword of Sacrifice.

Group value:

* with the Grade II-listed Twycross House School.

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 Twycross as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the five members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It was unveiled on 16 November 1919 by Lady Waring and dedicated by the local vicar, the Reverend E Deacon. The monument originally cost £138. A historic photograph indicates that the initials A M D G, which stands for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (‘For the Greater Glory of God’), were originally positioned above the dedication but these have since been removed or lost.

Following the Second World War, the name of the single casualty from that conflict was added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, 1919, with Second World War addition.

DESCRIPTION: Twycross War Memorial is located at the north-west corner of the village green at the junction of Main Road with Sheepy Road; to the south-west is the Grade II-listed Twycross House School.

The memorial is of Cornish grey granite and takes the form of a tall, wheel-head cross with an inverted Sword of Sacrifice carved in relief to the north-west face; the sword has a trefoil symbol to the pommel and at the ends of its cross-guard. The cross shaft rises from a four-sided, tapering plinth, which carries the dedications and names in leaded lettering to the north-west face within a smooth, inset panel. The whole stands on a small paved foundation.

The dedication reads ERECTED BY GRATEFUL PARISHIONERS AND/ FRIENDS TO COMMEMORATE THE NAMES OF ITS/ FAITHFUL SONS WHO FOUGHT AND GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR 1914 – 1918/ (5 NAMES)/ R.I.P/ DEDICATED BY THE REV. E. DEACON VICAR/ AND UNVEILED BY LADY WARING ON SUNDAY NOV. 16TH 1919/ 1939 - 1945 - (1 NAME).

Sources

Websites
Leicestershire County Council War Memorials Project, accessed 22 February 2018 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/1190
War Memorials Register, accessed 22 February 2018 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/14747

Legal

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