Summary

A war memorial of 1919 in the form of a stone cross.

Description

DATE: war memorial, officially unveiled in 1919.

MATERIALS: constructed in stone, the memorial takes the form of a Celtic cross, with a square shaft and plinth. It is simple and plain in its architectural detail. The cross and plinth sit on a triple-stepped base which itself stands within a rectangular, terraced, walled enclosure approached by steps from the north.

The front face of the cross shaft is inscribed, 'IN PERPETUAL REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE WHO ? BORE THEIR PART IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN DEEPEST HOMAGE TO THOSE WHO FELL'. On the plinth are listed the twenty soldiers who lost their lives in the Great War. The first step reads ' GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS ? MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS'. A later addition to the third step is a commemoration to Ronald Eric Ninehan who was killed in action on July 8th 1944.

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, 12 January 2017.

History

The concept of commemorating war dead did not develop to any great extent until towards the end of the 19th century. Previously, 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 which led 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.

The memorial at Barley was opened in October 1919 and commemorates the fallen from both World Wars.

Reasons for Listing

Barley war memorial is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Historic interest: it commemorates the tragic impact of war and those members of the community who died in the First and Second World Wars;

* Architectural interest: the Celtic cross design is simple in its execution but imposing in its presence;

* Group value: it has strong group value with the immediately adjacent village lock up and cross base both of which are listed at Grade II.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675895

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

• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)