War Memorial In The Churchyard Of Christ Church, Gedney Dawsmere

1514/0/10017 10-JUL-08

GEDNEY DAWSMERE/ DROVE END War memorial in the churchyard of Christ Church, Gedney Dawsmere

GV II

War memorial. Erected c1919 to the memory of the men from the parish of Gedney who were killed in WWI, with inscriptions added for the fallen of WWII.

MATERIALS: Limestone.

DESCRIPTION: A three-stepped square base surmounted by an octagonal plinth, an octagonal shaft and a gabled crucifix with Gothic cusping and a finely-sculpted figure of Christ. The plinth is inscribed: '1914-1918 / To the / Glory of God / and in undying / memory of the / men from this / Parish who died / in The Great War', with the names of 21 fallen. There is an added inscription '1939-1945', with the names and ranks of the 5 men who fell in WWII.

HISTORY: Until 1850 the only centre of population in Gedney Marsh was Drove End. In 1855 the prominent politician Edward Cardwell (later Viscount Cardwell) and his brother Charles bought some 3,000 acres of land in Gedney Marsh. The Marsh had a creek running through it, named Daws Mere Creek, probably after Sir Abraham Dawes who undertook the reclamation of the land from the sea in 1660. The Cardwell brothers set about building a new village at Dawsmere. In 1869-70 Christ Church, Dawsmere was built to the designs of Ewan Christian. The war memorial in the churchyard was erected c1919 to commemorate the 21 men from the parish of Gedney who were killed in the First World War. Further inscriptions were added to commemorate the 5 men who died in the Second World War.

SOURCES: UK National Inventory of War Memorials, ref. 42986.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The war memorial at Gedney Dawsmere is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * As a testament to the men from this marshland parish who were killed in the two World Wars, it is a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events on the local community * It is delicately carved in limestone, with a particularly fine sculpted figure of Christ on the cross * It has group value with the adjacent Christ Church and vicarage by Ewan Christian.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 23 January 2017.