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Latitude: 50.9184 / 50°55'6"N
Longitude: -1.9226 / 1°55'21"W
OS Eastings: 405533
OS Northings: 113223
OS Grid: SU055132
Mapcode National: GBR 41P.6RV
Mapcode Global: FRA 66VP.4SQ
Plus Code: 9C2WW39G+9W
Entry Name: Cranborne War Memorial
Listing Date: 10 December 2019
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1466546
ID on this website: 101466546
Location: Cranborne, Dorset, BH21
County: Dorset
Civil Parish: Cranborne
Built-Up Area: Cranborne
Traditional County: Dorset
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Dorset
Tagged with: War memorial
A stone war memorial of interwar date.
A war memorial of interwar date.
MATERIALS: constructed of stone.
DESCRIPTION: comprising a small Latin cross with an decorative floriated crosshead rising from a moulded collar on an octagonal shaft. This is set on a plinth, square on plan, on a two-stepped base.
The east face of the plinth bears the incised inscription: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN/ PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES FOR ENGLAND’S HONOUR/ 1914 – 1918./ (NAMES). The south face has the dedication 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES).
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. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official polity of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Cranborne, sometime after 1920, 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 memorial commemorates 12 servicemen who died in the First World War; it would appear that one of the names has been added at a later date. The memorial was later altered to recognise the eight serviceman of this parish who fell in the Second World War. The low brick wall which runs parallel to the east of the memorial is of later C20 date. A photograph of 1939 shows that the green on which the memorial stands was originally separated from the road by a low box hedge and that the memorial was surrounded by a path. The memorial was restored in 2018 including a replaced stone shaft.
Cranborne 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 a well-detailed war memorial in the form of a stone cross with elaborate carved crosshead.
Group value:
* it has group value with the Church of St Mary and St Bartholomew (listed at Grade I) and other Grade II listed buildings.
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.
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