Nailsworth War Memorial Cross

A war memorial, designed by Thomas Falconer, Harold Baker and F J Bligh Bond, constructed in 1920/1.

MATERIALS:the memorial is constructed from local limestone.

PLAN: the war memorial cross is set within a lenticular-shaped enclosure on rising ground, incorporating a screen wall with inscriptions.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial takes the form of a Celtic cross, with carved strap work. The tapering, square-section shaft is set directly into the square base. The lower part of the shaft carries a bronze plaque which lists the twenty-seven men commemorated from World War II. The text gives the rank, name and service or regiment and decorations of the Fallen. The base of the cross has a metal plaque with the text: IN GRATEFUL & AFFECTIONATE / MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF NAILSWORTH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR KING AND COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919 /& THE WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945 / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE. The flanking sides of the base carry metal plaques with the rank, name and service or regiment and decorations of the commemorated (39 on each plaque). On the side that faces Church Street is an additional, smaller metal plaque commemorating a local serviceman killed in Afghanistan in 2010. Below the base, the wider plinth includes a small planter.

The memorial stands on an area of paving which is lenticular-shaped, and set on rising ground. The area is enclosed by a curved, stone screen wall to the rear carrying inset stone tablets inscribed with the names of the seventy-six Fallen of the First World War. The stone walls continue to either side of the plot, built in rock-faced limestone. Between the walls, the front of the plot is bounded by metal railings with two gates. Due to the rising ground, the plot is approached by a flight of stone steps.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 10 January 2017.