Building record 1818/1/2 - Ringstead War Memorial

{1} First World War memorial. 1924, with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Ringstead (Northamptonshire) War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as 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;
* Design: a well-executed medieval-style cross;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
History
The memorial was unveiled on 4 July 1924 by Colonel J Brown DSO. It was given to the village by Mr H A Billson, a shoe manufacturer from Northampton. Names commemorating the dead of the Second World War, and the name of a Paratrooper who died during the Aden Emergency in 1967, were added.
Details
The war memorial stands in the churchyard of the Grade I-listed Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, overlooking the village street. The memorial is in the form of a granite cross, with simple raised interlace to the front of the shaft. On the front face of its tapering plinth the dedication, in applied metal lettering, reads
TO THE GLORY OF GOD./ IN PIOUS MEMORY OF THE MEN/ OF RINGSTED WHO FELL
DURING/ THE GREAT WAR/ AND/ IN GRATITUDE FOR THE MERCIES/ OF A LIFETIME THIS CROSS
IS/ THE HUMBLE OFFERING OF/ HERBERT ALFRED BILLSON,/ WHO LOVED THE VILLAGE./ JESU
MERCY.
The names of the fallen and of those who died in the Second World War appear on the other faces of the plinth, along with one individual who died in 1967. The plinth stands on a three-stepped, granite base.
The concrete-flagged surrounding path and approach is excluded from the listing.
Rushden and District History Society Research Group. Ringstead Church and War Memorial, accessed 19/02/2015 from
http://www.rushdenheritage.co.uk/Villages/Ringstead/ringsteadwarmemorial.html

<1> Historic England, 2015, Ringstead (Northamptonshire) War Memorial, (part checked) (Designation Advice Report). SNN109983.

Record last edited

May 18 2015 3:14PM