Cassington War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial. Erected in 1919, to designs by F E Howard, by W H Axtell and Son, monumental masons. Sculptures by Alec Miller. Names of the fallen from the Second World War added. Restored in 2018.

Reasons for Designation

Cassington War Memorial, erected after the First World War to designs by F E Howard and with sculpture by Alec Miller is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest: * for its design, a well-executed stone calvary and the high quality of its sculpture by a recognised Arts and Crafts artist.

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. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also 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.

Cassington War Memorial was commissioned by a former vicar of the village, Reverend C G Paget, who lost three sons during the First World War, and had been completed by February 1919. It was designed by the local architect, F E Howard of Oxford and built by the monumental masons, W H Axtell and Son of Regent Street, Oxford. The sculptures were by the Scottish sculptor, Alec Miller. The names of the fallen from the Second World War were later added to the memorial.

Restoration of the memorial was carried out in 2018 with a grant from the War Memorials Trust. This involved cleaning, repointing and some minor replacement of stonework.

An Arts and Crafts designer, Alec Miller (1879-1961) trained as a woodcarver in Glasgow, later joining C R Ashbee’s Guild of Handicraft in 1902, just as it was moving from London to Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. He stayed in Campden after the failure of the Guild, widening his activities to include carving, sculpting and other elements of design and craftsmanship, in particular portrait sculpture. Miller emigrated to California in 1939.

Details

First World War memorial. Erected in 1919, to designs by F E Howard, by W H Axtell and Son, monumental masons. Sculptures by Alec Miller. Names of the fallen from the Second World War added. Restored in 2018.

MATERIALS: Ketton and Bath stones.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is located on a grassed area on the east side of The Green to the south of the Old Vicarage. It takes the form of a crucifix set on a tapering octagonal shaft with a square to octagonal transition plinth and three-tiered octagonal base. The terminal-armed crucifix has floriated intersections between the upright and crossbars. On the front face is a sculpture of Christ Crucified and on the rear, one of the Madonna and Child, both in full relief.

The plinth bears inserted stone panels with incised inscriptions in a Gothic script. On the front these have the date 1939-1945, followed by the three names of the fallen, and the inscription DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY. On the rear is the date 1914-1918, followed by the names of the fallen and the inscription TO THE GALLANT DEAD. Additional names of the fallen occupy the side panels, giving a total of 16 First World War dead.

The base of the memorial is adjoined by a pair of narrow, stone-edged, flower beds enclosed within a metal post and chain fence.

Sources

Websites
Cassington and Worton News: Cassington War Memorial, accessed 27 January 2021 from http://www.wospweb.com/site/Cassington-Online/cawn_1112.pdf
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register -Entry 31215: Cassington Cross, accessed 27 January 2021 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/31215
War Memorials Online 249414 - Cassington, accessed 27 January 2021 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/249414
War Memorials Trust - Cassington, accessed 27 January 2021 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=1485

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