Ravenstone War Memorial

Summary

First World War Memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War. The memorial stands in the Ravenstone Conservation Area.

Reasons for Designation

Ravenstone War Memorial, situated in the Churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:
* a well-executed floriated cross constructed from local materials;
* designed and built by notable local architects Joseph Herbert Morcom and Thomas Henry Fosbrooke.

Group value:
* with the Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade II* listed) and the Hospital Precinct Walling Gate Piers and Gates (Grade II listed).

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 Ravenstone as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 28 servicemen from the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Following the Second World War the names of five local servicemen who died in that conflict were added to the memorial.

The memorial was unveiled on the 24 October 1920 by Major Hatchett JP, and was dedicated by the Reverend S Dowling. The cost of the memorial was around £150. The memorial was designed by architect Thomas Henry Fosbrooke (1862-1925) and built by Joseph Herbert Morcom ARCA (1871-1942).

Thomas Henry Fosbrooke was the son of Leonard Fosbrooke of Ravenstone Hall. He worked with Waller King Bedingfield FRIBA (1870-1952) as part of the Fosbrooke and Bedingfield architectural practice from 1918. The practice designed the war memorial pylon on Market Street, Ashby de la Zouch (1922), (Grade II). They also designed the former Pfister & Vogal warehouse on Rutland Street, Leicester (1923), (Grade II).

Joseph Herbert Morcom ARCA (1871-1942) worked first for a local firm of stonemasons in Wales, later securing a position with Norbury, Paterson & Co of Liverpool. In the early 1890s he enrolled at Liverpool School of Architecture and Applied Art. By 1904 he was Assistant Modelling Master at the School and in 1910 was appointed Modelling Master at Leicester School of Art. Four years later he bought Pearson and Shipley, a firm of stonemasons and monumental sculptors, which he renamed The Plasmatic Company. Thereafter he continued to work for the company as well as sculpting independently and teaching at the Leicester School of Art. He was responsible for a number of other war memorials, including those at Quorn, Aylestone, Queniborough and Kirby Muxloe (all Grade II listed).

Details

A First World War memorial, unveiled 1920; altered after the Second World War. The memorial stands in the Ravenstone Conservation Area.

MATERIALS: Weldon Stone, Swithland Slate.

DESCRIPTION: Ravenstone War memorial is located in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels Church, Ravenstone (Grade II* listed). It comprises a stylised floriated cross on a slender, tapering octagonal sectioned shaft standing on a square sectioned plinth. The plinth stands on a two-stepped square base.

The front of the memorial has been carved with the inscription IN/ GLORIOUS/ MEMORY OF THE/ UNRETURNING/ BRAVE/ 1914 1919
The other three faces of the plinth contain Swithland slate tablets with the names of the 28 fallen from the First World War.

The top step has been inset with Swithland slate commemorating the five names of those who fell in the Second World War on the upper surface of the step, and the inscription WE WILL REMEMBER THEM on the face of the step.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 03 August 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37867
Leicestershire War Memorials Project, accessed 25 July 2018 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/952
Edgbaston War Memorial at St Augustine's Church List Entry, accessed 03 August 2018 from https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1430856
Aylestone War Memorial List Entry, accessed 03 August 2018 from https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1433210
War Memorial with attached Railings, Piers, Gate and Lamps List Entry, accessed 03 August 2018 from https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1073616

End of official list entry

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