Building record 9167/0/68 - Desborough War Memorial

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Summary

The memorial is situated in a war memorial garden to the north of the Grade I-listed Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles and opposite the Services Club (Grade II). The nearby Church House, to the south of the memorial garden, is also listed at Grade II. There are no known threats to the memorial.

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

{1} List Entry Description
Summary of Building
First World War memorial, with additions for later conflicts.
Reasons for Designation
Desborough War Memorial, north of the Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles, is recommended for
listing 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 and C21;
* Design: a substantial granite monolith;
* Historic association: within a war memorial garden dedicated during the First World War;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles and the Services Club
(Grade II).
History
As recorded on a bronze plaque attached to a corner post, the land laid out as a war memorial garden was
given to the town in 1916 by the Desborough Industrial and Provident Co-operative Society as an open space
in perpetuity.
The war memorial was presumably erected soon after the end of the war. The title deeds of the war memorial
were given by the Co-Operative Society to Desborough Urban Council in March 1931. Plaques recording the
names of servicemen who died during the Second World War and more recently in Afghanistan were added
at a later date.
Details
Desborough War Memorial stands in a war memorial garden at the junction of Lower Street and High Street,
to the north of the Grade I-listed Anglican and Methodist Church of St Giles and opposite the Services Club
(Grade II). The monument comprises a 4m high granite monolith, four-sided and slightly tapering. The
memorial stands on a raised grass surround, around which runs a low iron railing supported on short granite
posts.
To the front of the monolith a bronze plaque carries the inscription 1914-1919/ THEIR NAME LIVETH/ FOR
EVERMORE. Bronzes plaques on either side bear the names of the town’s 116 First World War dead. On
the rear face are bronze plaques commemorating those who fell in the Second World War and a stone
plaque dedicated to those who have fallen in later conflicts. That bears the inscription IN MEMORY OF
THOSE/ WHO HAVE DIED ON DUTY/ IN THE ARMED SERVICES POST 1945/ (1 NAME).
Three flower beds defined by iron railings, contemporary with the memorial, run in a semi-circle behind it. At
the north-west corner of the memorial garden stands the granite post with the bronze plaque recording the
garden’s gift to the town.


Selected Sources
Websites
War Memorials Trust, War Memorials Online, accessed 16/02/2015 from
https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/node/184803
Other
“Country Notes and District News” The Northampton Mercury, 13 March 1931, p3


<1> Historic England, 2015, Desborough War Memorial (Designation Advice Report). SNN110086.

Sources/Archives (1)

  • <1> Designation Advice Report: Historic England. 2015. Desborough War Memorial. 17/07/2015. 1428139. Historic England.

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Location

Grid reference Centred SP 8029 8312 (18m by 19m)
Civil Parish DESBOROUGH, North Northamptonshire (formerly Kettering District)

Protected Status/Designation

Other Statuses/References

  • None recorded

Record last edited

Aug 3 2015 3:14PM

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