Summary

First World War memorial, 1921, by Sir Edwin Lutyens with later additions for the Second World War.

Description

The memorial, on a small green at the heart of the village, takes the form of a flaming, bulbous, urn standing atop a square pedestal in limestone ashlar set on shallow base of three steps. The pedestal is inscribed:

(south-west): IN MEMORY/ OF/ THE MEN OF/ NETHER SWELL/ WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WARS

(south-east): MCM/ XIV/ MCM/ XIX/ MCMXXXIX/ MCMXLV

(north-east): (NAMES)

(north-west): MCM/ XIV/ MCM/ XIX/ MCMXXXIX/ MCMXLV

This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 26/10/2015

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, 10 January 2017.

History

It is assumed that Lutyens was commissioned via Mark Fenwick, for whom Lutyens undertook work at his nearby house, Abbotswood, in the early 1900s. The memorial was unveiled on 31 July 1921 by Colonel Brooke DSO of the Grenadier Guards. The addition of ‘S’ to the final line of the dedication on the memorial (IN THE GREAT WARS) shows the many and various ways in which people sought to modify memorials to include the fallen of the Second World War

Sir Edwin Lutyens OM RA (1869-1944) was the leading English architect of his generation. Before the First World War his reputation rested on his country houses and his work at New Delhi, but during and after the war he became the pre-eminent architect for war memorials in England, France and the British Empire. While the Cenotaph in Whitehall (London) had the most influence on other war memorials, the Thiepval Arch was the most influential on other forms of architecture. He designed the Stone of Remembrance which was placed in all Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries and in some cemeteries in England, including some with which he was not otherwise associated.

Reasons for Listing

Lower Swell War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principle reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architect: by the nationally renowned architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944), who designed extant 58 memorials at home and abroad including the Cenotaph in Whitehall;
* Group value: with Rosemary Cottage, and the adjoining wall and conduit head, both Grade II-listed.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Lower Swell War Memorial at Wikipedia
• Wikidata Q26382267

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  This Old House: Restoring, Rehabilitating, and Renovating an Older House
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover