King’s Somborne War Memorial
King’s Somborne’s war memorial, closely related to Lutyens’s Stockbridge design but on a square base, was chosen after 1919 discussions led by Herbert Johnson, funded partly by his £100 pledge, and unveiled on Easter Sunday 1921 as a “chaste and simple” Lutyens War Cross of dignified, carefully judged proportions.
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Description
As at nearby Stockbridge, the war memorial in nearby King’s Somborne arose because of the relationship between the architect and Herbert Johnson. The memorials are very similar – the only difference being the base upon which the memorial stands (King’s Somborne’s is square, Stockbridge’s is round).
Johnson chaired a meeting to discuss the memorial in February 1919 at which various wide-ranging suggestions were made, encompassing a wayside cross and, ambitiously, a Parish Hall. Promises of £100 were made, including one from Johnson himself. In due course a Lutyens “war cross” was chosen which was unveiled on Easter Sunday, 27 March 1921. Writing about the event Johnson said the committee considered the cross to be “chaste and simple in character, dignified in appearance, while its proportions were beautiful and perfect, and of great artistic merit.” (Contributor: Peter Skelton)
Bibliography
, Amery, C., Richardson, M. and Stamp, G., (1981) Lutyens, the Work of the English Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944): Hayward Gallery London, 18 November 1981 – 31 January 1982. London: Arts Council of Great Britain.
