Evercreech War Memorial

Summary

A First World War memorial, erected in 1920; altered after the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Evercreech War Memorial 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.

Achitectural interest:

* a simple yet poignant memorial column.

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 750,000 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 Evercreech, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 41 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Evercreech War Memorial was unveiled on 29 February 1920 by ‘Major George’. It was described in the Shepton Mallet Journal: ‘It resembles a pyramid, and is built of Portland stone, standing 14ft 6in high, and is set off on a square base’. The report also mentions the four inscribed tablets, each surmounted by a bronze wreath. It cost £300. The memorial as seen today cannot truly be described as a ‘pyramid’, although a historic postcard from the mid C20 shows it in its present form. The names of six parishioners who died during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.

Details

A First World War memorial, erected in 1920; altered after the Second World War.

MATERIALS: Portland stone, with marble name plaques, and bronze wreaths.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in the cemetery connected to the parish church of St Peter (Grade I), located beyond the church itself on the north side of the road leading east from the village centre, and laid out by 1903.

The memorial is a simple Neoclassical column, with acanthus and lotus leaves to the capital and a ball finial on a plinth above, carved from Portland stone. The cross stands on a stepped and moulded square plinth on a two-stepped platform. Each face of the plinth has a white marble rectangular tablet, above each of which is a small bronze wreath. The principal face (south west) of the plinth is inscribed: IN MEMORY OF/ THE HEROIC MEN/ OF THIS PARISH/ WHO FELL IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918; each other face contains a tablet inscribed with the names of the fallen. Below the face is a further smaller tablet inscribed AND OF THOSE IN/ THE WORLD WAR/ 1939-1945, followed by the six names of the men who fell in that war.

Sources

Websites
Evercreech Village and District - World War One and Two Memorials, accessed 07/03/2018 from http://www.evercreech.org.uk/world-war-memeorials
Imperial War Museum - War Memorials - Evercreech, accessed 07/03/2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/66184
War Memorials Online - Evercreech War Memorial, accessed 07/03/2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/256348/
Ebay - Evercreech War Memorial postcard, accessed 07/03/2018 from https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Somerset-postcard-Evercreech-War-Memorial/263524256229?hash=item3d5b4509e5:g:YgYAAOSwcedamDbj

Other
Ordnance Survey Map, Somerset, 2nd edition (1903) (1:2500)
The Shepton Mallet Journal, Friday March 5 1920, 'War Memorial Unveiled'

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