Kirtling and Upend War Memorial

War Memorial at junction of Newmarket Road and Cowlinge Road, Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, CB8 9HL

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Overview

First World War memorial with names added after the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1486486
Date first listed:: 30-Aug-2023
List Entry Name:: Kirtling and Upend War Memorial
Statutory Address:: War Memorial at junction of Newmarket Road and Cowlinge Road, Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, CB8 9HL

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Location

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1486486
Date first listed:: 30-Aug-2023
List Entry Name:: Kirtling and Upend War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: War Memorial at junction of Newmarket Road and Cowlinge Road, Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, CB8 9HL

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: War Memorial at junction of Newmarket Road and Cowlinge Road, Kirtling, Cambridgeshire, CB8 9HL

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Cambridgeshire
District:: East Cambridgeshire (District Authority)
Parish:: Kirtling
National Grid Reference:: TL6911257107

Summary

First World War memorial with names added after the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Kirtling and Upend War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* it is 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:

* it is in the form of a Celtic cross, one of the classic designs used for First World War memorials.

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the C19. Before this, 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, leading 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.

One such memorial was raised at Kirtling and Upend as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The names of three soldiers who fell during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial with names added after the Second World War.

MATERIALS: rough hewn granite.

PLAN: the war memorial is located on the green at the junction of Cowlinge Road and Newmarket Road.

EXTERIOR: the memorial is in the form of a Celtic cross resting upon a square plinth and three-stepped base. It is set within a small square gravelled area, defined by a low stone kerb. On the plinth is inscribed ‘Lest we forget/ To the glory of God/ And in grateful memory/ of the men of Kirtling/ who gave their lives in the Great War/ 1914-1918’, followed by fourteen names inscribed in the step below (incised and painted). Underneath the inscription on the plinth is a small metal plaque with the dates 1939-1945 and the names of the three men who fell in the Second World War.

Sources

Websites
IWM War Memorials Register, accessed 8 May 2023 from www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/886
War Memorials Online, accessed 8 May 2023 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/210143/

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.