The search was carried out as part of Historic England’s Immortalised season, which aims to help people explore the country’s memorial landscape – who is reflected, who is missing, and why. Monuments and statues are under increasing scrutiny as debates grow about why there are so few women and minorities among our statues. As part of Immortalised Historic England is organising a debate and public participation to explore who and what will be remembered in our public spaces, and how we and future generations will commemorate.
People from across the East of England submitted photographs and stories of memorials, locally known and loved, but others that have almost been forgotten. A selection will be unveiled in the Immortalised exhibition which will open in London on Thursday 30th August.
As well as showcasing some of England’s local monuments, street shrines and community tributes, Immortalised: The People Loved, Left and Lost in our Landscape explores the variety of ways people and events have been commemorated in England, past and present. Stories of immortalisation, from the heroic and sad, to the quirky, inspirational and challenging, are told through photographs, archival material and individual objects presented in an immersive way that gives life and voice to the monuments and memorials on show.
The exhibition also looks at who we have chosen to memorialise in the past, and why, and highlights the well-documented lack of women, working class people and people of colour in England’s memorial landscape. Also on display are the winning designs of a national competition that asked artists, architects and designers to explore and visualise what memorials of the future could look like.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England, said: “We are very grateful that so many people living in the East of England took the time to tell us about memorials in their communities and the stories behind them. At a time when our national statues and memorials are under increasing scrutiny, we’re delighted to shine a light on these often undiscovered and under-appreciated but precious markers of our past. Every one of those that’s been nominated has a local champion and someone who cares about it and about the story it tells. It’s important for us all to know who has been commemorated in our public spaces and what this can tell us about our history, as we look at how public memorials are evolving today.”
Memorials nominated by people living in the East of England
Locally well-loved statues, memorials, murals and shrines were suggested by people living in the East of England, including:
Pieterson Playground, Cambridge
The Hector Pieterson Playground in Cambridge commemorates a 13 year old school boy killed in South Africa in 1976. The plaque was erected by Cambridge City Council and the Cambridge Branch of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in June 1985 and reads: “This playground is dedicated to the memory of Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old Black school boy shot in the back by a white policeman outside Orlando West High School in Soweto near Johannesburg in South Africa on the 16th June 1976. His name will be remembered when the barbarous acts of his oppressors are long forgotten. ‘Amandla Ngwethu’ ‘Power to the People’”.
Andrew Murden memorial, Cambridge
This memorial in Christ's Pieces in Cambridge was erected following Andrew Murden's death in a cycling accident on Christmas Eve in 1982. He was a well-known trade unionist who worked for the City Council.
Stained glass window tribute to women, All Saints Church, Cambridge (pictured above)
A stained glass window was commissioned by John Murrish in 1942 after the passing of his beloved wife, Kate Louisa (she was active in the church as a Sunday School teacher and he wanted a way to commemorate that). The window was designed and created by the Scottish artist, Douglas, and he made it into a tribute to womanhood, particularly highlighting the role of women in their pursuit of philanthropy and social good (as shown through the inscriptions featured on the window). It features four women in particular and their dedication to humanitarian work: Josephine Butler (noted campaigner for women’s rights and women’s health); Mother Cecile (Annie) Isherwood (founder of the Community of the Resurrection of our Lord in Grahamstown, South Africa); Elizabeth Fry (noted prison reformer); and Edith Cavell (pioneering nurse that helped over 200 Allied men escape from occupied Belgium into the Netherlands during World War I, before being found and executed by firing squad).
It was unveiled in 1944 in honour of the services that women performed during WWII. Josephine Butler’s Christian feminism is celebrated by the Church of England with a Lesser Festival observed on the 30 May. Edith Cavell is commemorated on 12 October in the Calendar of Saints.
Sculptures at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, Dereham, Norfolk
The Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse museum has a vast collection relating to the ordinary people of Norfolk, particularly those who worked on the land and the harsh life in the workhouse. The sculptures depict Christopher High and his family at the point where he left his family in the workhouse. The sculptures are copper-embedded fibreglass, by Alan Herriot.
Swaffham Village Sign, Norfolk
This Norwich road sign from the 1960s was hand carved and painted by Harry Carter who taught in the village. It commemorates a folklore story of a 15th century pedlar, John Chapman who dreamed if he went to London he would be given good news. He was told by a shopkeeper on London Bridge that if he dug under his apple tree in Swaffham he would find gold. He rushed home and found a small pot filled with gold coins followed by a larger pot of coins. He paid for the north aisle and tower of the local church to be rebuilt.
Crittall Family memorials, Witham, Essex
There are several memorials to members of the Crittall family, who built the factory for the Crittall Manufacturing Company and the village of Silver End to house their employees. There are memorial gates to Francis Henry Crittall and his wife Ellen Laura at the front of the Memorial Gardens; a set of memorial gates to Walter Crittall, who designed the Memorial Gardens and many of the Modernist houses in the village. There are also plaques to Lord Braintree, Valentine Crittall, Walter Francis Crittall (situated in the Memorial Gardens), Francis Henry and Ellen Laura Crittall.
Exhibition Visitor Information
Immortalised: The People Loved, Left and Lost in ourLandscape
30st August – 16th September 2018, Wednesday to Sunday
The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, Lambeth, London SE1 7AG
Nearest tube: Vauxhall (Victoria line) and Lambeth North (Bakerloo + Northern lines)
Free entry
More information about the season can be found on Historic England’s website: www.HistoricEngland.org.uk/immortalised
The Immortalised season does not tackle the subject of war memorials, which have been the subject of a separate four-year programme by Historic England to mark the centenary of the First World War, which had an enormous impact on England’s memorial landscape.