Tilton on the Hill War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 4 July 1920 by Major Dawson.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in the churchyard of the Church of St Peter, Tilton on the Hill, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: it is a poignant reminder of the impact of tragic world events upon an individual community and, thus, has strong cultural and historical significance within both a local and national context;
* Design interest: as an accomplished and well-executed memorial which takes the form of a wheel cross;
* Group value: with the Church of St Peter (NHLE1074839) and a scheduled and listed churchyard cross (NHLE 1014517 and NHLE 1360999).

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Prior to then memorials were rare and were mainly dedicated to individual officers, or sometimes regiments. The first large-scale erection of war memorials dedicated to the ordinary soldier followed the Second Boer War of 1899-1902, which was the first major war following reforms to the British Army which led to regiments being recruited from local communities and with volunteer soldiers. However, it was the aftermath of the First World War that was the great age of memorial building, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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.

The memorial in the churchyard of the Church of St Peter, Tilton on the Hill was unveiled on 4 July 1920 by Major Dawson at a cost of £140. The memorial has recently undergone conservation work due to the monument leaning. This involved correcting the lean, reinstating a protective gravel surround, cleaning, repointing, and repainting the inscription.

Details

First World War memorial, unveiled on 4 July 1920 by Major Dawson.

MATERIALS: Castle Hill Granite

PLAN: rectangular in plan.

DESCRIPTION: The memorial stands in a prominent location adjacent to the path leading to the S porch of the Church of St Peter (listed at Grade I, NHLE1074839). The memorial comprises a single-stepped rectangular base below a tapering rectangular sectioned plinth, with a slightly tapering rectangular sectioned shaft surmounted by an infilled wheel cross. In relief on the face of the cross is a sword of sacrifice.

At the base of the shaft is the leaded inscription TO THE/ GLORY/ OF GOD. On the E face of the plinth the inscription reads IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF/ THIS DISTRICT WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 and below are the 12 names of those men of the parish who lost their lives.

The memorial stands approximately 10m W of a listed and scheduled churchyard cross (NHLE 1014517 and NHLE 1360999).


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, 23 November 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 6 September 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/37578
Leicestershire County Council War Memorials Project, accessed 6 September 2016 from http://www.leicestershirewarmemorials.co.uk/war/memorials/view/1175
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253782

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry