War Memorial at St Peter-in-Thanet Church

Summary

War memorial. Constructed by mason W J Overton and dedicated in 1925.

Reasons for Designation

The War Memorial at St Peter-in-Thanet Church, which stands adjacent to the 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 made in the First World War.

Architectural interest:
* as a good example of a popular form of First World War memorial featuring locally distinctive heraldry.

Group value:
* with the Parish Church of St Peter the Apostle (Grade II*).

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 the country. The huge impact on communities of the loss of three-quarters of a million British lives, along with the official policy of not repatriating the dead, meant that memorials became the main focus of remembrance.

One such memorial was erected at St Peter-in-Thanet Church as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 118 people from the parish who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was constructed by local mason W J Overton of St Peter's Park Road, Broadstairs. It was unveiled by the Lord Bishop of Dover on 17 June 1925.

Details

War memorial. Constructed by mason W J Overton and dedicated in 1925.

MATERIALS & PLAN: Cornish granite cross and ceramic tiles set in a wall of knapped flint with ashlar dressings.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands adjacent to the Grade II*-listed Parish Church of St Peter the Apostle, between the south-east corner of the church and Church Street. It takes the form of a Calvary with a budded cross hooded by a small gablet. Immediately beneath the cross a four-sided capital is decorated with a different carving on each side: the crossed keys of St Peter; the Invicta horse of Kent; the coat of arms of England; and the coat of arms of the Anglican Diocese of Canterbury.

The cross is supported by a tapering, octagonal shaft in three segments that stands on a two-stepped, octagonal base with chamfered top edges and geometric moulding. The inscription on the front face of the base reads: AD/ 1914-1918. The base itself stands on a plain, tall octagonal plinth. Two courses of stone blocks have been added to the top of the plinth to incorporate a flower trough at some point between 1952 and 1960.

The base appears to have been cleaned more recently than the plinth, shaft and hooded cross; the granite is of a lighter colour.

Adjacent to the Calvary cross, a rectangular grouping of 20 ceramic tiles bearing the names of the fallen is incorporated into the boundary wall of the church, protected by a terracotta-tiled, pitched roof. The boundary wall itself is detached from the church and is constructed from knapped flint with ashlar quoins and copings. The tiles bear the principal dedicatory inscription: IN THE YEARS OF OUR LORD 1914-1918/ ALL THOSE OF THIS PARISH WHO IN THE GREAT WAR DIED FOR US AND/ FOR OUR PEACE ARE NAMED ON THIS MEMORIAL THAT THEY MAY BE/ REMEMBERED HERE TOGETHER HOWEVER FAR APART THEY LIE. Below these words 118 names are inscribed below the year in which they fell: 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 18 December 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1549
War Memorials Online, accessed 18 December 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/120981/

Other
"Saluting the Dead: Bishop Dedicates St Peter's War Memorial.", The Advertiser, 20 June 1925, p7.

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