Building record 1933/0/68 - War memorial, Wellingborough Road

{1} War memorial off Wellingborough Road. Simple construction with small area of landscaping around it. Film 4, photo 17.

{2}
List Entry Description
Summary of Building
First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Finedon War Memorial, on Wellingborough Road, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and
the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: an unusual square monolith in the Classical style;
* Architect: by the leading Northamptonshire architect JA Gotch.
History
Finedon War Memorial, designed by the Northamptonshire architect JA Gotch (1852-1942) for the Finedon
War Memorial Committee, was dedicated at an ecumenical service on 7 November 1920 with Brigadier
General AFH Fergusson in attendance. It replaced a temporary memorial, in the form of an obelisk on a
square base. The memorial was funded by public subscription and cost c£400. Gotch was responsible for a
number of war memorials in the region, such as those at Kettering, Burton Latimer and Titchmarsh (all Grade
II-listed).
Details
The war memorial stands on Wellingborough Road, the main thoroughfare through Finedon. Overall c5m tall
and made of Weldon stone, it is a square monolith with an out-sailing cornice and ogee capstone. The
capstone is surmounted by a small equal armed cross that is decorated with roses carved in low relief at the
centre and on the arm terminals. Small pinnacles stand on each corner of the cornice.
At the top of the memorial each face carries a single word: COURAGE; ENDURANCE; PROWESS;
CHEERFULNESS. Below each word is carved two square blind panels, and below these a large slate plaque
recording the commemorated names is let into each face. Below the plaque on the front face, an inscription
on a slate tablet carries the words TO KEEP IN MIND THE/ GREAT WAR & THOSE/ FROM THIS PLACE
WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ 1914 - 1919/ AND/ 1939 – 1945.
Supporting scroll buttresses are angled at each corner of the monolith’s base. It is raised on two square steps
and surrounded by a small paved area. The memorial stands in a long, thin, memorial garden alongside the
road, surrounded by iron railings.
Selected Sources
Other
“Finedon’s War Memorial”, Northampton Mercury, 12 November 1920, p4

Historic England, 2015, Finedon War Memorial (Designation Advice Report). SNN110129.

<1> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Industrial Period, (unchecked) (Digital archive). SNN4.

Record last edited

Sep 28 2015 12:50PM