Aysgarth War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, early 1920s, with Second World War addition. The memorial takes the form of a pedestal lamp and stands on the village green at the centre of Aysgarth village.

Reasons for Designation

Aysgarth War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* 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 dignified memorial with a relatively unusual design in the form of a street lamp, providing a conspicuous war memorial intended to draw attention to the memory of the fallen.

Group value:

* it benefits from group value standing in proximity to a number of listed buildings, including the Grade II The Ferns.

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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Aysgarth as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by three members of the local community, who lost their lives in the First World War.

Aysgarth War Memorial is located in the centre of the village on the A684. It stands on a green in close proximity to a number of listed buildings, including The Ferns (Grade II). It is unclear when the memorial was built, or by whom, but historic photographs show it in place by 1924. At the time of its construction, it would have been very conspicuous, being the only street lamp in the village and as such, it highlighted the memory of the three fallen from the community. Following the Second World War, a plaque was added to the memorial to commemorate the local men who had fought and all returned from that conflict. The original lamp has been replaced by a modern lamp of a similar appearance, with external electrical conduits.

Details

First World War memorial, early 1920s, with Second World War addition.

MATERIALS: rough-hewn limestone, ashlar sandstone, painted metal lamp.

PLAN: circular.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a pedestal surmounted by a small street lamp, supported by four decorative scrolled wrought iron struts. It was built using coursed rough-hewn limestone blocks, with an ashlar sandstone frieze, capstone and plinth; it is mounted on a single-step circular stone base, which is raised on a circular podium that has a gently inclined surface. A bronze plaque fixed to the south side of the pedestal reads: REMEMBER/ ALL WHO SHARED IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ THESE OF AYSGARTH/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ (3 NAMES). A secondary bronze plaque on the north side reads: THIS TABLET IS ERECTED/ IN GRATEFUL THANKS FOR/ THE SAFE RETURN OF ALL/ WHO SERVED FROM THIS/ TOWNSHIP IN THE/ SECOND GREAT WAR/ 1939 – 1945. The capstone projects on a moulded cornice and is coned, with a flat upper surface for mounting the lamp; it has four semi-circular projections on the north-west to south-east, and south-west to north-east alignments. The ends of each of the four projections bears an inscribed letter, which spells out the word: THEY, when read in an anti-clockwise direction from the south-west side. The frieze is inscribed with the words: LIVE, HEARD, FELT, and DIED, when read in an anti-clockwise direction from the west face. The plinth is inscribed: 1914 .1918.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online - Aysgarth, accessed 31 October 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/173183
Imperial War Museum War Memorial Register - Aysgarth, accessed 31 October 2019 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/30072
North Yorkshire War Memorials - Aysgarth, accessed 31 October 2019 from http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/html-files/aysgarth.htm

End of official list entry

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