Summary
First World War memorial, 1921, by Sir Edwin Lutyens with later additions for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Lower Swell War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principle 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;
* Architect: by the nationally renowned architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944), who designed extant 58 memorials at home and abroad including the Cenotaph in Whitehall;
* Group value: with Rosemary Cottage, and the adjoining wall and conduit head, both Grade II-listed.
History
It is assumed that Lutyens was commissioned via Mark Fenwick, for whom Lutyens undertook work at his nearby house, Abbotswood, in the early 1900s. The memorial was unveiled on 31 July 1921 by Colonel Brooke DSO of the Grenadier Guards. The addition of ‘S’ to the final line of the dedication on the memorial (IN THE GREAT WARS) shows the many and various ways in which people sought to modify memorials to include the fallen of the Second World War Sir Edwin Lutyens OM RA (1869-1944) was the leading English architect of his generation. Before the First World War his reputation rested on his country houses and his work at New Delhi, but during and after the war he became the pre-eminent architect for war memorials in England, France and the British Empire. While the Cenotaph in Whitehall (London) had the most influence on other war memorials, the Thiepval Arch was the most influential on other forms of architecture. He designed the Stone of Remembrance which was placed in all Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries and in some cemeteries in England, including some with which he was not otherwise associated.
Details
The memorial, on a small green at the heart of the village, takes the form of a flaming, bulbous, urn standing atop a square pedestal in limestone ashlar set on shallow base of three steps. The pedestal is inscribed: (south-west): IN MEMORY/ OF/ THE MEN OF/ NETHER SWELL/ WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WARS (south-east): MCM/ XIV/ MCM/ XIX/ MCMXXXIX/ MCMXLV (north-east): (NAMES) (north-west): MCM/ XIV/ MCM/ XIX/ MCMXXXIX/ MCMXLV This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 26/10/2015
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, 10 January 2017.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
129996
Legacy System:
LBS
Sources
Books and journals Skelton, T, Gliddon, G, Lutyens and the Great War, (2008), 80, 83, 172Websites War Memorials Online, accessed 10 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/103069 War Memorials Register, accessed 10 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20995
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
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