Summertown War Memorial

Outside Summertown Church Hall, Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7EZ

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1438950
Date first listed:: 31-Oct-2016
List Entry Name:: Summertown War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Outside Summertown Church Hall, Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7EZ

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1438950
Date first listed:: 31-Oct-2016
List Entry Name:: Summertown War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Outside Summertown Church Hall, Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7EZ

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Outside Summertown Church Hall, Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, OX2 7EZ

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:: Oxfordshire
District:: Oxford (District Authority)
Parish:: Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:: SP5074109328

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 5 October 1921, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Summertown War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20; * Architectural interest: a simple yet elegant Latin cross with Sword of Sacrifice.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised at Summertown as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Alderman Francis Twining gave £500 to purchase the site that both the Summertown Church Hall and the cross are built upon. The memorial was built four years before the hall by Boulton and Paul Ltd of Norwich. It was unveiled on the 5 October 1921 by General Sir Arthur Phayre, KCB, and was dedicated by Bishop Edward Shaw, the Archdeacon of Oxford.

After the Second World War the dates 1939 - 1945 were added to the inscription on the eastern side of the memorial.

Details

The memorial comprises a three-stepped octagonal base which is surmounted by an octagonal plinth with the inscription on the western side which reads: IN THE WAY/ OF RIGHTEOUSNESS/ IS LIFE/ AND IN/ THE PATHWAY/ THEREOF/ THERE IS NO DEATH (from Proverbs 12:28).

On the eastern side of the plinth the inscription reads: IN PROUD/ AND GRATEFUL/ REMEMBRANCE/ OF THE MEN OF/ SUMMERTOWN WHO/ NOBLY GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR KING/ AND COUNTRY AND/ RIGHTEOUSNESS/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ 1939 – 1945.

The plinth is surmounted by an octagonal tapering shaft and a Latin cross which bears a Sword of Sacrifice.

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 November 2017.

Sources

Books and journals
Graham, M, Oxford in the Great War, (2014)
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 5 June 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/32067
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/251072
Other
‘Unveiling and Dedication of War Memorial’ Oxford Journal Illustrated, 5 October 1921, p.6

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.