War Memorial at St Peter's Church

Reasons for Designation

The War Memorial at Chalvey to The Fallen of the First World War is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Artistic: a simple yet elegant memorial Calvary cross of good quality design, craftsmanship and materials including a cast lead crucifix; * Historic: of cultural and historical special interest as a memorial which honours the war dead of the parish from the Great War; an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community and as a permanent testament to their sacrifice; * Group Value: with St Peter's Church, a Grade II* neo-Gothic church of 1860-1 in whose graveyard the memorial is located.

Details

236/0/10033 CHURCH STREET
09-JUL-10 War Memorial at St Peter's Church

GV II
War memorial cross with Calvary, 1921, to commemorate The Fallen of Chalvey in the First World War.

MATERIALS: Clipsham stone with cast lead crucifix.

DESCRIPTION: The memorial takes the form of a column with Calvary rising from a pedestal on a stepped base. The base is tri-partite and octagonal; the pedestal is also octagonal with a battered plinth and a surbase with carved floral and foliate decoration. The column has a simple moulded base and capital and is also subtly octagonal and elegantly tapers as its rises. The Calvary has a gabled canopy and a cast lead crucifix which faces north onto Church Street.

The memorial inscriptions are carved in sans serif lettering in relief on the north, south, east and west faces of the plinth. The main dedication is on the north face and reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/AND IN THANKFUL /REMEMBRANCE OF/ THE MEN OF CHALVEY/ WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ GRANT THEM ETERNAL/ REST O LORD AND LET/ LIGHT PERPETUAL/ SHINE UPON THEM. The remaining inscriptions are within recessed panels and list the names of The Fallen in the form of initials followed by surnames. Over eighty names are inscribed.

HISTORY: The war memorial was erected to commemorate the men from the parish who fell in the First World War. It was funded by public subscription at a cost of £225 organised by a parish committee. The memorial was designed by the architect HC King who was based at Dean's Yard, Westminster and was architect to the St Dunstan Society (a society dealing with church architecture as well as the design of vestments and altar hangings). He was better known as a church architect and wrote the 'The Chancel and the Altar' in 1911 which is held in the British Library. The stone mason was E Sargeant of Slough (who also worked on the Slough Town War Memorial) and the St Dunstan Society was responsible for the casting of the lead crucifix. Contemporary accounts indicate that the design sought to emulate the Beaumond medieval cross in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire although the resemblance is not striking.

The memorial was unveiled by Major General Carteret Carey, Acting Governor of Windsor Castle, and blessed by the Bishop of Buckingham, Dr P Eliot, at a dedication ceremony on 28 June 1921. Over eighty names are inscribed including one Frederick Youens, a teacher at Chalvey Junior School before enlisting, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry.

SOURCES:
United Kingdom National Inventory of War Memorials at http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.7844/fromUkniwmSearch/1
[accessed 25 May 2010]
Ascot & District Advertiser, (July 2 1921)
Windsor, Eton & Slough Express (1921)
Slough, Eton & Windsor Observer, (11 Jan 1919, 4; 8 Feb 1919, 2; 2 July 1921, 4)

REASON FOR DESIGNATION:
The War Memorial at Chalvey to The Fallen of the First World War is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Artistic: a simple yet elegant memorial Calvary cross of good quality design, craftsmanship and materials including a cast lead crucifix;
* Historic: of cultural and historical special interest as a memorial which honours the war dead of the parish from the Great War; an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community and as a permanent testament to their sacrifice;
* Group Value: with St Peter's Church, a Grade II* neo-Gothic church of 1860-1 in whose graveyard the memorial is located.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 10 January 2017.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

508413

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 10 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/115471

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