Citadel New Military Cemetery

Description

The cemetery lies on a slope amid an open agrarian land- scape and is recognizable from a distance due to the large trees. The elongated piece of ground lies with its long side adjacent to a country road whose gentle curve is accommodated by a bend in the wall. The asymmetrical layout of the cemetery is a directly conspicuous feature, and this is reinforced by the fact that the trees are only situated on one side of the cemetery, functioning as a side wall for the cemetery.

The entrance to the cemetery does not lie on the long side along the road, but on the short side next to a low storage space that has been incorporated in the wall surrounding the cemetery. With occasional alterations in height, the wall follows the lie of the land. The entrance gives access to the cemetery between two slightly raised plant beds. A natural stone pavement continues into a sloping grass strip[105] that leads upward between two yew- bearing plant beds framed by natural stone to the Cross of Sacrifice. The Cross is encompassed by natural stone bands on a grass plateau.

The other greenery consists of a row of five sturdy chestnut trees and a group of five birches at the front, at plot 1, where there are hardly any graves. The original French graves have probably been transferred to another cemetery. The other graves were laid out during the war and lie in long rows facing away from the road between plant beds with differently coloured roses in each section. (Geurst, 2010, p.246)

Bibliography

Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.

Also Cited In

Listing Grade

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Listing Reference

Client

Imperial War Graves Commission