Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery Extension
The communal cemetery extension at Chauny, begun by French troops and later enlarged under IWGC architects Truelove and Hutton, is a rectangular Anglo‑French burial ground entered from the municipal cemetery, organised on a central axis of Cross of Sacrifice, War Stone, and shelter, and enclosed by low walls, maples, yews, hydrangeas, and cotoneaster.
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Description
The cemetery was begun by French troops in 1915 and later taken over by the British troops. After the Armistice, the cemetery was further extended. It is accessible via a passage through the wall of the adjoining municipal cemetery. The rectangular field with graves accommodates around 50% French graves that lie on the municipal cemetery side. The field has a central path with the Cross of Sacrifice on one side and a shelter on the other. In front of the shelter, the central path widens to the War Stone, which is situated slightly to the east of the middle of the cemetery. On the south side, the cemetery is bounded by the high wall, with hydrangea, of the municipal cemetery, while the other walls around the cemetery are low. The shelter is linked to a storage space in the low wall. The rectangular set-up of the building and the high roof seem more related to the shelters designed by Baker and Blomfield, for whom architect Hutton worked more often than for Lutyens. The structure of the building is similar to the shelters at the cemetery in Chauny, where Hutton was also the assistant to Lutyens.
Originally the cemetery was designed by assistant architect Truelove with a simple entrance at the location of the shelter. The cemetery was bordered on two sides by a hedge and trees. The War Stone lay closer to the entrance. After the departure of Truelove from the IWGC the design was adopted by Hutton. The current greenery consists of eight maples at the sides and two yew trees adjoining the Cross of Sacrifice. There are also four yews on the field between the War Stone and the shelter. The low wall around the cemetery is covered with cotoneaster. (Geurst, 2010, p.)
Bibliography
Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.,
