Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery

Description

The cemetery is not on the IWGC list of Lutyens’ cemeteries and is also not indicated on the special Michelin map showing all the cemeteries. The design was drawn up by Lutyens at the location itself. A toolhouse and a shelter were added to the design by Goldsmith, along with a wall on the south side, which was the only side without a ditch at that time. Lutyens was not asked about his view of this new design, as he was in America at that moment.

The cemetery started with plot i in the middle of the grave- yard during the war. This is recognizable by the long rows. It was further extended after the war. The location lies at a fork in the road to Sint-Joris and Ramscapelle near Nieuwpoort.

The field with graves lies lower than the roads and is thus easy to survey. The entrance lies on the north side and leads from the higher road to the field with graves via an attractive stairway that is derived from stairways in one of Lutyens’ gardens, such as Great Dixter for example. The stairway consists of a large semicircular plateau into which two smaller circular plateaux have been inserted. On the side on the road, a little distance in front of the entrance, there is a natural stone wall that was added later and replaced an embankment with a hedge. The entrance is situated on the main axis of the cemetery.

The orientation of the graves follows that of the original field. The War Stone stands on the east side with the Cross of Sacrifice directly opposite on the other side, on an axis that lies at right angles to that of the entrance. The graves are oriented toward the north. On the south side corners there are two shelters that are related in their rural architecture to the buildings at Vaulx Hill Cemetery. They are octagonal and diagonally symmetrical, are made of grey-brown rubble, and there is a peaked roof with ceramic slates above a white cornice. The two shelters are connected by a wall covered in euonymus. The two short sides are closed off by a hedge. Whitebeams stand on two sides of the cemetery and next to the Cross of Sacrifice and in front of the entrance there are tall Lombardy poplars. There are many white roses in the borders in front of the headstones, and various kinds of hostas in front of the rear wall. (Geurst, 2010, p.396)

Bibliography

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

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Listing Reference

Client

Imperial War Graves Commission