Ascham St. Vincents Memorial Arch
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs |  Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Carlisle Road |
| Town: | Eastbourne |
| Parish: | Eastbourne |
| Council: | Eastbourne Borough Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN20 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Road or Wayside |
| Access is: | Public |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 160 |
| Grid reference: | B2 |
| The A-Z books used are A-Z East Sussex and A-Z West Sussex (Editions 1A 2005). Geographers' A-Z Map Company Ltd. Sevenoaks. | |
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Makers
| Name : | Unknown |
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General Information
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | Eastbourne Borough Council |
| Object listing: | Not listed |
| Description: | A large decorative stone and brick memorial arch leading from the main road into a now residential area. The central arch is supported on either side by wide square columns that on the side facing away from the road have inset stone plaques bearing the names of the fallen. There are stone plaques affixed to the apex of the arch on both sides. |
| Iconographical description: | The verses are taken from the 'Ode of Remembrance' taken from 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon. It was published in The Times in September 1914. The poet wrote the poem whilst on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in Cornwall. A plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The inscription reads: For The Fallen Composed on these cliffs 1914 The poem has seven verses and is dedicated to WWI British war dead, particularly those of the British Expeditionary Force. The poem was published when the Battle of the Marne was foremost in people's minds. Eventually, the third and fourth verses of the poem were used as a tribute to all casualties of war. |
| Inscription: | IN MEMORY OF FORTY NINE GALLANT MEN WHO WERE AT SCHOOL HERE IN THEIR EARLY BOYHOOD AND GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY DURING THE GREAT WAR OF 1914 – 1919 AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM Facing the houses, away from Carlisle Road: THEY WENT WITH SONGS TO THE BATTLE. THEY WERE YOUNG STRAIGHT OF LIMB, TRUE OF EYE STEADY AND AGLOW THEY WERE STANCH TO THE END AGAINST ODDS UNCOUNTED THEY FELL WITH THEIR FACES TO THE FOE The names of the fallen are inscribed on two plaques, either side of the archway, facing away from the main road. On a metal plaque to the left of the archway facing Carlisle Road: ASCHAM Members of The Old Aschamian Society gratefully record that on this ground there thrived Ascham St. Vincent’s Preparatory School from 1889 to 1939 and Ascham the College Preparatory School from 1946 to 1977 ‘Virtute et Valore’ |
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Classification
| Categories: | Military, Roadside / Wayside, Commemorative, Architectural |
| Object type1: | War memorial |
| Object subtype1: | World War I |
| Object type2: | Building |
| Object subtype1: | Gate(way) |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Whole structure |
| Material: | Brick and stone |
| Height (cm): | 740 |
| Width (cm): | 840 |
| Depth (cm): | 190 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Surface |
| Condition 1: | Corrosion, Deterioration |
| More details: | The inscribed names on the memorial plaques are very weather worn and difficult to read. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 15/04/2007 |
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History
| History: | Roger Ascham was tutor to Lady Jane Grey in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, a Fellow of St. Johns College Cambridge, whose emblem is the Eagle of the Fourth Evangelist.
In 1889 the Rev. William Newcombe Willis a graduate of St. Johns Cambridge was appointed curate at the parish church of Eastbourne. He and his wife decided to use their house in Selwyn Road as a small school called Ascham. Later larger premises were acquired in St. Anns Road. In 1908 Ascham took over St. Vincent's in Carlisle Road. By 1914 there were 49 boys prep schools in Eastbourne and a similar number for girls. Ascham was very successfull in preparing boys for prestigious public schools and obtaining scholarships, in 8 out of 10 consecutive years a boy gained a place as a Kings Scholar at Eton. The headmaster who had played for Eastbourne Football Club from 1889 to 1904, part of that time as captain was very keen on sport for the school, including shooting. The Rev. Willis was extremely well supported by his wife and at certain times by some of their 7 children, it was clear his eldest son would eventually take over. He retired in 1927 after 38 years as headmaster. Arthur Willis joined the Royal Navy Division the day before WW1 was declared and served on the expedition to Antwerp and subsequently Gallipoli, where he was badly wounded. After a years convalescence he was able to rejoin the Forces with a commission in the Royal Garrison Artillery. After the war he joined the newly formed Royal Tank Corp and served until he completed ten years in the Forced with the rank of Captain. He had one year at Cambridge before the war and returned to complete his M.A. degree. He was the army high jump champion and represented his country at this sport in the 1924 Olympics. Many good years continued at Ascham St. Vincent's with leavers successfully passing entrance exams to public schools of their choice and scolarships being won to Eaton, Malvern and Eastbourne colleges. In 1938 captain Willis had concerns about the threatening situation in Europe, he closed and sold the school; returned to the Royal Tank Corp and later was promoted to Major. Eastbourne College purchased the land and buildings of Ascham St. Vincent's. It was used from 1939 by Crosby House, a boarding house of the college. On 20th June 1940 the college moved out of Eastbourne bound for Radley and the Royal Navy (H.M.S. Marlborough) took over all the college buildings. Autumn 1945 marked the return to Eastbourne and the Ascham St. Vincent's site was opened as the college prep school ''Ascham'' in May 1946. In 1977 the site was sold for property development and a merger with St. Andrews took place. The arch is dedicated to the memory of the 51 Ascham St. Vincent's pupils who fell in the Great War. Their names are inscribed on four plaques on the memorial arch and due to errosion the inscriptions are now almost lost and require restoration. (http://www.meadsvillage.com/ascham/index.php) |
| Hard archive file: | Yes |
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References
Further information: | |
| www.meadsvillage.com/ascham/index.php | |
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Photographs
Date: 15/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 15/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
 Date: 15/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |  Date: 15/04/2007 Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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