Exton War Memorial Cross and Tablet

Exton War Memorial Cross and Tablet

This First World War memorial, erected in 1922, comprises a stone cross and accompanying tablet set within a memorial garden along Oakham Road where it meets The Green.

The memorial cross is constructed from Clipsham stone and takes the form of a Calvary cross. On its south-east face stands a metal sculpture of the Crucifixion beneath a stone canopy, with a small bronze plate bearing the monogram INRI affixed above the sculpture to the vertical cross arm. The cross crowns an octagonal shaft with a moulded collar and terminates in a square foot with inverted chamfered stops. The shaft rises from a square plinth with moulded upper corners, which surmounts a two-stepped base; the upper step is square while the lower step is octagonal. The entire structure stands on an octagonal stone platform with a flat stone cap, which accommodates a prayer step on its south-east face.

The plinth bears inscriptions in relief-carved lettering. The principal inscription, beginning on the south-east face, reads: "IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST/ AMEN/ CHARLES 3RD EARL OF GAINSBOROUGH/ AND MARY HIS WIFE SET UP THIS CROSS/ AND THE TABLET NEARBY IN MEMORY OF/ THEIR BELOVED SON ROBERT THEIR NEPHEWS/ ROGER AND MAURICE AND OTHERS THEIR". The inscription continues on the north-east face: "FRIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS IN EXTON/ AND WHITWELL WHO DIED FOR KING AND/ COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918/ ON WHOSE SOULS SWEET JESUS HAVE MERCY".

The remaining two faces carry dedications to members of the Noel family. The north-west face reads: "TOM CECIL NOEL M.C. AND BAR, LIEUT/ ROYAL AIR FORCE, SON OF GERALD CECIL/ NOEL OF COTTESMORE, REPORTED MISSING/ AT WESTROOZEBEKE, FLANDERS, IN THE/ GREAT WAR AUG 22ND. 1918". The south-west face reads: "MAURICE JAMES DEASE V.C. LIEUT./ ROYAL FUSILIERS. AGED 24/ MONS 23RD. AUG. 1914/ ROGER CHARLES NOEL BELLINGHAM LIEUT/ ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY AGED 31/ YPRES 4TH. MARCH 1915./ HONBLE ROBERT E. T. M. NOEL, CAPT/ NIGERIAN ARMY. AGED 29/ MASASI, EAST AFRICA, 2ND. FEB. 1918/ REQUIESCANT IN PACE".

The memorial tablet stands to the north-east of the cross, set within the former boundary wall of Exton Park, which now borders the approach to the village hall. The wall has been raised above the tablet. The tablet features a Clipsham stone moulded frame with an inset fielded panel of Hopton Wood stone at its centre. Carved in relief lettering above the panel and beneath a moulded cornice are the words "IN MEMORY OF THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 18". The panel below contains the names of servicemen who died, also in relief-carved lettering, reading "EXTON/ (15 NAMES)/ WHITWELL/ (4 NAMES)/ MAY THEY REST IN PEACE".

The memorials stand in close proximity to Grade II-listed buildings including the Old School House and the Fox and Hounds Hotel and Stables.