Stockbridge War Memorial

Description

Stockbridge was another village that owes it local memorial to the presence of a Lutyens client as a local resident – in this case, Herbert Johnson.

Having made his fortune on the Stock Market, Johnson commissioned the Lutyens to design a large house, which became known as Marshcourt, alongside the River Test in Hampshire. Built of local chalk between 1901-04 it is celebrated as one of the architect’s finest buildings.

It was therefore natural that Johnson would play a leading role in commissioning the memorial but, not only did he chair the local committee, he provided much of the money, the land upon which it stood and used his influence to widen the road to improve its setting.

The memorial was unveiled on 3 April 1921 by Johnson’s wife, Violet. She had played a leading local role in tending wounded soldiers at Marshcourt during and after the war which, according to her memorial cross in the nearby cemetery, hastened her early death in 1923. It was natural that the cross as well as her nearby gravestone would also be designed by Lutyens.

The shaft of the memorial snapped in two after it was hit by a car in the 1990s and it was refurbished in 2008 when the dead of the Second World War were added. (Contributor: Tim Skelton)

The memorial stands to the east of Stockbridge, on the A3057 close to its junction with the A30. It comprises a Portland stone War Cross with a lozenge-sectioned cross shaft set on a slightly splayed rectangular, plinth. That itself stands on a lower, coved, plinth which that splays out upwards to form a seat around the base of the memorial. There is a base of three broad, square, shallow steps, the upper two square and the lowest circular. The plinth is inscribed on the east face: OUR DEAD/ THROUGH WHOM/ WE LIVE/ MCMXIV- MCMXIX. The names of those who fell in the First World War are inscribed on both sides of the plinth.

The inscriptions were originally unpainted and the black paint was applied in 2005 to aid legibility. In 2008 a new inscription was added to the west face: WE WILL REMEMBER THEM/ MCMXXXIX – MCMXXXXV with names of those who fell in the Second World War below. This replaced an original inscription: THANKS BE TO GOD/ WHO GIVETH US/ THE VICTORY. (Historic England, list entry 1093099)

Bibliography

Historic England.Stockbridge War Memorial. [Online] Available from: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1093099

Also Cited In

Bullen M, Hubbuck R, Crook J & Pevsner N (2010) Hampshire: Winchester and the North. The Buildings of England. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Listing Grade

II

Listing Reference

1093099

Client