Summary
First world war memorial cross, erected in 1922.
Reasons for Designation
Brimpsfield War Memorial, 1922, 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:
* for its retention of original fabric and well-realised design in the form of a Latin Cross on a shaft, plinth and base;
Group value:
* with the nearby Church of St Michael (Grade I) which contains a commemorative window, contemporary with the memorial cross.
History
The aftermath of the First World War which 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. The memorials, therefore, provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Brimpsfield, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Brimpsfield War Memorial is situated on a small patch of ground at a junction to the north of the village. The site was provided by Major Wait of Brimpsfield House, who also served in the First World War, and was created by setting back the wall which had previously separated the road from an adjacent field.
The memorial was unveiled by Archdeacon Ridsdale of Gloucester on 2 June 1922 in a ceremony attended by parishioners from Brimpsfield and the nearby village of Birdlip. It originally commemorated six parishioners who perished in the First World War, including one Major William Henry Denne who was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for ‘conspicuous gallantry’ at Neuve Chapelle on 12 March 1915 and died in February 1917 from injuries sustained there. Denne is also commemorated by a stained-glass window within the Church of St Michael (Grade I), to the north-east of the memorial. The six names on the memorial are commemorated in the centre panel of the Roll of Honour within the church.
At a later date an inscription was added to commemorate P J Kight, who died in action in March 1942. In 2005 all inscriptions were copied to a metal plaque which was mounted on a stone base and now sits just behind the structure, against the low stone wall which separates the memorial from the adjacent field.
The memorial was designed by Messrs Waller and Son. The practice began in 1846 as a partnership between Diocesan Surveyor Thomas Fulljames and his pupil Frederick Sandam Waller. In 1868, Waller’s son Frederick William joined the practice, later joined by a third generation – N H Waller. Waller and Son were very active in the area, restoring large numbers of churches, rectories and vicarages in the Diocese of Gloucester including, most probably, the Old Rectory in Brimpsfield. They also designed the expansion of Stroud Court in outer Nailsworth (Grade II) and alterations to Sandywell Park in Andoversford (Grade II*). The practice continued until the 1950s and was eventually absorbed in the 1960s by the Astam Design Partnership.
The memorial was carved by Mr A Cooke, a mason of nearby Paganhill, Stroud, who also built the Grade II-listed war memorial in Whiteshill, Stroud.
The memorial was cleaned and the surrounding area tidied in June 2014.
Details
First world war memorial cross, erected in 1922.
MATERIALS: carved stone with incised inscriptions.
PLAN: equidistant from Gloucester and Cheltenham, south-east of the roundabout exit from the A417 for Brimpsfield Village.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a chamfered Latin Cross on a hexagonal, tapering shaft, set on a plinth and two-stepped base. The plinth is inscribed ‘1939-1945’ and ‘LEST WE FORGET’, along with the ranks, full name and unit of each individual.
