Bream Cenotaph

The Bream Cenotaph is a First World War memorial built in 1921. It was designed by the London-based architects Kennard and Kennard and subsequently altered following the Second World War. The memorial is constructed from local stone and takes the form of a cenotaph, loosely inspired by the national Cenotaph in Whitehall. It tapers upwards from a rectangular base. Two faces feature tall, nowy-headed plaques with inscriptions. One plaque, on a short side, commemorates the casualties of the First World War and includes a moulded surround, a laurel wreath at the head, and a Latin cross above the inscription GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN / THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY / DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS, followed by the names of the casualties, and concluding with the words TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD. The second plaque, commemorating the Second World War dead, has its original carved inscriptions now concealed behind a bronze plaque bearing the inscription 1939-45 / AT THE GOING / DOWN OF THE / SUN AND IN THE MORNING / WE WILL REMEMBER THEM (names). A further plaque from 1995, affixed to a stone at the base, commemorates those who served in the Burma campaign 1941-5, and was added by the Burma Star Association. The memorial is surrounded by contemporary iron railings with pointed tops and moulded finials to the corner posts.