Coleorton War Memorial

Ashby Road, Junction of Farm Town Lane, Coleorton, Leicestershire, LE67 8FD

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Overview

A First World War memorial, built 1922; altered after the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1464728
Date first listed:: 04-Jul-2019
List Entry Name:: Coleorton War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Ashby Road, Junction of Farm Town Lane, Coleorton, Leicestershire, LE67 8FD

Coleorton War Memorial in 2018 — Uploaded by Coleorton Heritage Group This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1464728
Date first listed:: 04-Jul-2019
List Entry Name:: Coleorton War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Ashby Road, Junction of Farm Town Lane, Coleorton, Leicestershire, LE67 8FD

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:: Ashby Road, Junction of Farm Town Lane, Coleorton, Leicestershire, LE67 8FD

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

County:: Leicestershire
District:: North West Leicestershire (District Authority)
Parish:: Coleorton
National Grid Reference:: SK3948516915

Summary

A First World War memorial, built 1922; altered after the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Coleorton 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;

Architectural interest: * an elegant and well-executed stone cross by an established sculptural and architectural practice;

Group value: * with the Grade II* registered Coleorton Hall Historic Park and Garden.

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 Coleorton, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 20 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Coleorton War Memorial was designed and made by Robert Bridgeman and Sons of Lichfield and erected by a local mason, Edward Orton. Established by Robert Bridgeman (1844-1918) in 1879 the practice is best-known for the Gothic front of the John Rylands Library, Manchester and the restoration of the west front of Lichfield Cathedral, amongst many other sculptural commissions, including war memorials. The war memorial was funded by public subscription. It was unveiled on Sunday 17 September 1922, by Lieutenant Colonel RE Martin, CMG and dedicated by the rector, the Reverend JN Philpot.

Following the Second World War, a dedication was added to commemorate the five men who fell in that conflict.

The memorial was originally located at the junction of three roads, in front of Coleorton Almshouses and near to Coleorton Hall. The memorial was damaged by traffic in the 1970s resulting in the shaft being replaced and the memorial being moved to its current location. It was restored in 2018 through a grant from the War Memorials Trust.

Details

A First World War memorial, built 1922; altered after the Second World War.

MATERIALS Limestone.

DESCRIPTION Coleorton War Memorial is located in the centre of a triangular green at the road junction of Farm Town Lane and Ashby Road. It comprises a stone Latin cross with cusped edge-decorations and moulded terminals to the arms. It has a tapering hexagonal shaft on a four-sided plinth with chamfered edges, and a square base with round-canted edges and corners. The whole is surrounded by a low stone kerb.

The plinth bears the inscriptions in incised lettering which reads: IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF THIS PLACE / WHO FELL IN / THE GREAT WARS/ 1914-1918 / AND / 1939-1945/ followed by the names of those who were lost and the year that they fell, and THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE inscribed beneath.

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 28 April 2023 to correct two references in selected sources.

Sources

Websites
90 Years of Coleorton War Memorial, accessed 28/04/2023 from http://www.coleortonheritage.org.uk/90-Years-of-Coleorton-War-memorial.pdf
Coleorton Parish: War Memorial, accessed 28/04/2023 from https://www.coleortonheritage.org.uk/warmemorial.html
Imperial War Museums War Memorials Register: Coleorton , accessed 24/05/2019 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/14831
Leicestershire County Council’s Leicestershire & Rutland War Memorials Project , accessed 24/05/2019 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/275
Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951: Robert Bridgeman , accessed 24/05/2019 from https://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1394806036
War Memorials Online: Coleorton , accessed 24/05/2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/189749/
War Memorials Trust: Grants Showcase: Coleorton , accessed 24/05/2019 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=1597
Other
Illustrated Leicester Chronicle, ‘Elegant War Memorial’, Saturday 23 September 1922, pp8-9.
North West Leicestershire District Council: List of Heritage Assets

Legal

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