Summary

A churchyard lych gate, constructed c.1920 of oak on a stone plinth, with a tiled roof.

Description

A churchyard lych gate, constructed c.1920 of oak on a stone plinth, with a tiled roof. The building is rectangular with gables to its east and west fronts.

The oak frame has corner posts which have chamfered corners and which rest on the plinth of coursed stone. There are two bays to each side, with arched braces to the top of each. The east and west fronts have trusses with a slender tie beam, above which are queen posts, supporting a collar. The collar in turn supports the single purlin at each side. To the lower body are a pair of gates to the east side and to the south and joined to the lych gate is a single, pedestrian gate. These gates appear to have been renewed, as have the screens of timber uprights at either side of the lower flank walls, which form backs to the benches set at each side.

The eastern tie beam bears an inscription on its east side ‘LEST WE FORGET / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVER MORE’. The west gable is inscribed ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918’. Sixteen names of the fallen are recorded on the flanks. To the west side of the eastern truss is the inscription ‘THE SECOND GREAT WAR 1939-1945’ together with the four names of the fallen from the second world war.

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, 11 January 2017.

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. One such memorial was Old Sodbury Memorial Lych Gate. The lych gate was unveiled in a ceremony in 1920.

Reasons for Listing

Old Sodbury Memorial Lych Gate, is listed at Grade II for the following principal 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;
* Architectural interest: as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the simple form of a churchyard lych gate;
* Group value: with the Church of St John Baptist, Old Sodbury (Grade II*).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677130

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

• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair