Wainfleet St Mary War Memorial Cross

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Wainfleet St Mary War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of St Mary’s 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* A tall and imposing Calvary cross.

Group value:

* With the Church of St Mary (Grade II*) and the Grade II-listed and scheduled Cross 9 metres South of Nave of Church of St Mary.

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 Wainfleet St Mary as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 21 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was unveiled on 29 February 1920. It was built by the stone mason Mr Henry Charles Wood of Wainfleet and cost £160, a sum raised by public subscription. Following a service in the church led by local clergy, the memorial was unveiled by Major Henry George Maddison. Following the Second World War an additional inscription was added, commemorating seven who had died.

Details

The war memorial stands in the churchyard to the south-east of the Church of St Mary (Grade II*) and faces west. It is a 4.3m high stone Calvary cross in the style of a traditional Lincolnshire wayside cross.

A broad two-stepped base, square on plan, supports a square plinth surmounted by a small octagonal pedestal. The cross-shaft, octagonal in section, is topped with a carved hooded crucifix with the figure of Christ on the western face of the cross-head. Around the foot of the pedestal is inscribed in incised lettering the phrase (west face) IN/ THANKFUL REMEMBRANCE, (south face) OF THE MEN OF THIS, (north face) PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR, (west face) LIVES FOR FREEDOM IN THE, (south face) GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918.

On the plinth, the names of those who died in the First World War are recorded in applied metal lettering on a stone plaque inset to the western face. Below this, on the top step of the base in incised lettering is inscribed REST ETERNAL GRANT THEM O LORD. On the southern face a second plaque with applied metal lettering lists the names of those who died during the Second World War. The inscription ALSO/ 1939-1945/ R.I.P frames this plaque.

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, 30 January 2018.

Sources

Books and journals
Credland, M, The First World War Memorials of Lincolnshire, (2014), 185

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 21 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20471
War Memorials Online, accessed 30 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/255074

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