Woodhall Spa War Memorial

Summary

First World War Memorial, unveiled on 18 March 1923, designed by WH Wood and sculpted by H Jackson. Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Woodhall Spa War Memorial, which is situated at the junction of Witham Road and Stixwould Road within the former St Andrew’s 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 conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* a well-executed Latin cross memorial.

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 Woodhall Spa as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was given as a gift to the village by Mrs Alexander Trotter at the behest of her late husband. The design was undertaken by Mr WH Wood of Newcastle upon Tyne who designed a number of other war memorials, mainly in the north-east of England, several of which are listed. It was sculpted by Mr H Jackson of Lincoln. The memorial was located at the south-east corner of the churchyard of the former Church of St Andrew and originally commemorated 21 local men who died in the conflict (an additional name was added to the memorial at a later date). It was unveiled on 18 March 1923 by Captain Stafford Vere Hotchkin and dedicated by Reverend William Harry Benson-Brown. The lettering on the memorial was originally painted red.

Following the Second World War, the inscription was altered to include the dates of that conflict and the names of the nine casualties were subsequently added to the memorial.

The Church of St Andrew was damaged by a parachute mine during the Second World War and was later demolished in 1957.

Details

First World War Memorial, 1923, designed by WH Wood and sculpted by H Jackson. Second World War additions.

DESCRIPTION: Woodhall Spa War Memorial is located at the junction of Witham Road and Stixwould Road within a small, railed enclosure at the corner of the churchyard of the former Church of St Andrew.

The Portland stone memorial takes the form of a tall Latin cross surmounted by a canopy. The cross shaft, octagonal in section, terminates in a square foot with inverted chamfer stops. The shaft rises from a four-sided plinth with inverted chamfer stops at the corners. That surmounts a single-step chamfered base atop a narrow, square stone platform. All lettering is incised and painted black.

The inscription is to the south-east face of the plinth and reads TO THE GLORY/ OF GOD/ AND IN HONOURED MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WARS/ 1914 - 1918/ 1939 - 1945/ NOBLY THEY DIED FIGHTING/ TO MAKE MEN FREE. An incised cross pattée symbol precedes the inscription. The names of the 22 local men who died are recorded on the north-east and south-west faces.

The names of the nine local men who died in the Second World War were added to the chamfered edge of the north-east and south-west faces of the base.

The sculptors’ name is incised to the bottom right corner of the south-west face of the base.

Sources

Books and journals
Credland, M, The First World War Memorials of Lincolnshire, (2014), 197

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 20 March 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20489
War Memorials Online, accessed 20 March 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/133616/

Other
‘War Memorial. Unveiling Ceremony at Woodhall Spa.’, Boston Guardian, (24 March 1923), p.7

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