Bideford War Memorial Cross

The park is in the part of Bideford known as East-the-Water. The c7m tall, rough-hewn granite memorial cross stands at the highest point of the park, overlooking the River Torridge and the old town on the west bank of the river. It is c35m to the east of Chudleigh Fort (Grade II), the remains of a Civil War fortification re-built in the nineteenth-century.

The plain Latin cross rises from a tapering plinth, which stands on a deep granite step. That is raised on a concrete step. The dedications are recorded on the front face of the plinth, reading: THE FORT, DATING FROM THE 17TH CENTURY, WITH/ THE GROUND ADJOINING, WAS ACQUIRED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION AND PRESENTED TO THE TOWN AS/ A WAR MEMORIAL IN THE YEAR 1921./ THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918./ THE NAMES OF THE FALLEN ARE KEPT WITH THE BOROUGH RECORDS./ “LIVE THOU FOR ENGLAND,/ WE FOR ENGLAND DIED.”/ AND 1939 – 1945.

The later bronze plaque is fixed to the front face of the cross shaft. Its inscription reads: 1939 – 1945/ IN HONOURED/ MEMORY/ OF THOSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ AND/ DEEP GRATITUDE/ TO THOSE/ WHO SERVED FROM THE/ BOROUGH/ OF BIDEFORD.

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, 1 September 2017.