About Devon County War Memorial
Historic, Monuments And Memorials, Burial Places, Interesting Places, War Memorials, Monuments
The Devon County War Memorial is a First World War memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and situated on the cathedral green in Exeter, the county town of Devon, in the south west of England. It is one of fifteen War Crosses designed by Lutyens to a similar specification, and one of two to serve as a civic memorial in a city. The first proposal for the county's war memorial was to complete the construction of a cloister at Exeter Cathedral to be dedicated to the Devon's war dead, but this scheme was abandoned due to lack of funds. After considering multiple proposals, the Devon County War Memorial Committee commissioned Lutyens to design a War Cross instead. The committee chose to site the memorial on the green of Exeter Cathedral after scouting several locations. A war memorial for Exeter itself was being considered concurrently, but the committees for the two projects failed to work together, resulting in two separate memorials—the county memorial by the cathedral and Exeter City War Memorial in Northernhay Gardens.
