Sidmouth War Memorial

The Sidmouth War Memorial is a war memorial erected between 1920 and 1921, designed by architect R W Sampson. It is made of granite and features a Celtic cross that rises continuously from a tall, tapering column. The cross has a wheel, intricately carved with knots, measuring 30 centimeters in diameter. The column, which stands at 2.75 meters high, includes recessed panels and a knot motif just below the head of the cross.

The cross is set upon a four-tier base, where the lower sections are octagonal, and the uppermost tier is four-sided, adorned with recessed panels on its faces and curved blocks at the corners. The main part of the base features a cornice and recessed panels, with the original inscription on the south-east face, facing the entrance to the churchyard. This inscription reads: ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND / IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF / SIDMOUTH / WHO FELL / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 - 1918 / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE’. On the opposite face, a later inscription added after the Second World War states: ‘ALSO OF THOSE WHO / GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE WORLD WAR / 1939-1945 / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS.’

In front of each inscribed panel, there is a small granite flower-holder. The entire memorial is elevated on two octagonal steps.