Summary
First World War memorial, with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Sutton Scotney War Memorial, which stands opposite Victoria Hall, 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 has made in the conflicts of the C20 and C21;
Architectural interest:
* A tall lantern cross standing in a walled enclosure with carefully incorporated seating providing for the relief of mourners and visitors;
Group value:
* With Witts Cottage (Behind Victoria Hall; Grade II-listed).
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 which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Sutton Scotney as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the 48 members of the district who lost their lives in the First World War.
The memorial was in place by November 1921, when it formed the starting point for a procession that walked to Wonston Parish Church to attend a memorial service. It commemorates the dead from Sutton Scotney and also those from the nearby villages of South Wonston and Wonston where there are no freestanding memorials, only plaques in the churches. Following the Second World War a further 11 names, of men who died in that conflict, were added. A soldier from South Wonston who died in Iraq in 2007 is also commemorated on the memorial.
Details
The war memorial stands on the south side of the road, opposite Victoria Hall (unlisted) and Witts Cottage (Grade II). It is in a paved semi-circular area, surrounded on three sides by a coped brick and flint wall c1m high. Benches are let into three sections of the wall that are set back from the enclosure. To the front, posts carry spiked chains whilst the whole is set back from the roadside by a grass verge edged with bulbs.
The c5m tall limestone memorial comprises a hexagonal lantern surmounted by a small sphere on a pinnacle, with three small corbels supporting the lantern on the cross shaft. The lantern’s front face bears the inscription LEST/ YE/ FOR-/ GET, the west face a carved cross, and the east face a carved wreath. The cross shaft, hexagonal in section, stands on a three-stage plinth. The middle and lower stages are larger and carry the main inscriptions, whilst the upper stage records the later inscription of 2007. The whole stands on a low hexagonal step. All the lettering is incised and painted in black.
Two inscriptions on the middle stage of the plinth start on the west-facing side and, with a section on each face, finish at the east-facing side. The first inscription reads:
(first face) THESE MEN/ FROM THIS/ PARISH
(second face) AT THE/ CALL/ OF DUTY
(third face) MADE/ THE GREAT/ SACRIFICE
(fourth face) FOR GOD AND/ THE RIGHT
(fifth face) AUGUST/ 1914/ SEPTEMBER 1939
(sixth, front, face) NOVEMBER/ 1918/ AUGUST 1945
whilst the second inscription, below the lines of the first, reads:
(first face) THIS MONUMENT
(second face) IS ERECTED BY
(third face) THOSE WHO HONOUR
(fourth face) THEIR MEMORY
(fifth face) AND HOLD IT DEAR
The lower stage records the commemorated names inscribed in alphabetical order around all six faces, 48 from the First World War and 11 from the Second World War.
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 29 August 2017.
