Eterpigny British Cemetery
This small late‑1918 battlefield cemetery, probably designed by Cowlishaw rather than Lutyens, is dramatically approached by a bifurcating stone stairway from the road and tightly framed by monumental conifers and maples reflecting the presence of Canadian graves.
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Description
This small cemetery was in use between August and October 1918, just before the Armistice. The IWGC attributed its design to the architect Cowlishaw, but the approval form in the archives of the CWGC states Lutyens as the architect responsible. However, it is unlikely that Lutyens was at any time concerned with the design, due to the size of the cemetery.
The cemetery is proof of the attention given by the architects even to the smallest of cemeteries and of the professional skill of the assistant architects. In this case the difference in elevation with the road was reason to create a spectacular stairway, which bifurcates halfway into two flights of stairs that lead to the cemetery, providing an excel- lent view over the field of graves. It goes to show that to the British each casualty mattered after the hostilities came to an end. The style of the Arts and Crafts architect Cowlishaw can easily be recognized in his the application of materials, e.g. roughly hewn stone, and the closers of the gate.
The trees have a very monumental appearance. There are two huge conifers next to the Cross of Sacrifice and two large maple trees. The choice of the latter tree was probably occasioned by the Canadian graves in the cemetery that bear the maple leaf. (Geurst, 2010, p.288)
Bibliography
Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.
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