Summary
A First World War memorial dating from 1920, designed by Percy Goddard Stone. Altered following the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Arreton War Memorial, of 1920 by Percy Goddard Stone, 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:
* the memorial is a dignified and sombre stone cross by a known architect, neatly made and well-proportioned.
Group value
* with the Church of St George (Grade I), and with the listed graves in the churchyard.
History
Arreton War Memorial was designed by the local architect Percy Stone. The builder was CH Butt of Apse Heath, and the sculptor Frank Cooper of Newport. The cost os £216.2s.3d was raised by public subscription, and the memorial was dedicated on 25 May 1920 by the Bishop of Southampton. It commemorates 29 servicemen of the community who gave their lives in the First World War. A further inscription and the names of four who died in the Second World War were added after that conflict.
The architect and antiquarian Percy Goddard Stone (1856-1934) was born in London, the son of the architect Coutts Stone. He was articled to George Devey, became an associate of William Emmerson, who was married to his sister, and then joined his father in practice. He later moved to the Ise of Wight.
He reworked St Nicholas's Chapel in Carisbrooke Castle, which he had reconstructed in 1904 as a memorial to Charles I, as the County War Memorial, completed in 1929. His other war memorials on the island include the Grade II listed memorials at Bembridge and Freshwater, and those at Brading and Sandown.
Details
A First World War memorial dating from 1920, designed by Percy Goddard Stone. Altered following the Second World War.
MATERIALS: Ventnor rag stone.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in the churchyard of the Church of St George (Grade I), beside the path leading to the south porch.
It consists of a tall, elegant, floriated Latin cross with concave angles on a tapered plinth and two-stepped octagonal base. A shield in the centre of the cross is inscribed PRO PATRIA above a rose. The base has recessed panels and the front is inscribed IN MEMORY/ OF/ THE MEN OF ARRETON/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918, with names on the sides and back. The front of the top step reads AND THOSE WHO FELL/ 1939-45, with names to either side.
