Monument to Russian prisoners of war (Tzar's Obelisk)
| Browse information by: Location Makers General Information Classification Object Parts Object Condition History References Photographs | /DSC00276.JPG) Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright for Photograph: Creative Commons |
Location
| Street: | Abinger Place |
| Town: | Lewes |
| Parish: | Lewes |
| Council: | Lewes District Council |
| County: | East Sussex |
| Postcode: | BN7 |
| Location on Google Map | |
| Object setting: | Outside building |
| and in: | Religious |
| Access is: | Public |
| Location note: | Churchyard, Church of St John Sub Castro, junction with Lancaster Street. |
| In the AZ book: | East Sussex |
| Page: | 115 |
| Grid reference: | J5 |
| 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. | |
| OS Reference: | TQ4110 |
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Makers
| Name : | John Strong |
| Role: | Stonemason |
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General Information
| Commissioned by: | Emperor of Russia, Alexander II |
| Construction period: | 1877 |
| Installation date: | 1877 |
| Work is: | Extant |
| Owner custodian: | St. John Sub Castro. Lewes. |
| Object listing: | Grade II: of special interest warranting every effort to preserve them |
| Building listing: | II |
| Description: | Faces east. Set on a stepped base and in a neo-Gothic style. Octagonal drum with marble shafts carrying cusped pointed arches and the ribs to the pointed octagonal spire. Octagonal tabernacle feature above supporting cross. Four of the panelled sides contain dedicatory inscriptions, the other four contain the names of the dead. |
| Inscription: | SACRED to the Memory of the Russian Soldiers who died Prisoners of War in Lewes in the years 1854 1855 1856 West face, carved letters: RAISED by order of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia Alexander II 1877 THE MEMORIAL was restored by the Embassy of the USSR 1957 At the instance of the Friends of Lewes Society South face, carved letters: These Lines are transcribed from the first Memorial Now save what here is laid Soon will the Lord come who has said Those that on me believe them will Raise to Eternal life North face, carved letters, severely weather-worn: The First Memorial Placed over the Soldiers Remains ????? by their Surviving Comrades was a simple Head Stone bearing the following inscription ????????? ????????etc The other four sides contain the names of the Russian soldiers |
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Classification
| Categories: | Funerary, Free Standing, Commemorative, Religious |
| Object type1: | Shaft |
| Object subtype1: | Obelisk |
| Subject type1: | Non-figurative |
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Object Parts
| Part 1: | Obelisk |
| Material: | Stone with red granite columns. |
| Height (cm): | 425 |
| Width (cm): | 155 |
| Depth (cm): | 155 |
| Part 2: | Stepped (2) base |
| Material: | Stone |
| Height (cm): | 46 |
| Width (cm): | 250 |
| Depth (cm): | 250 |
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Object Condition
| Overall condition: | Good |
| Risk assessment: | No known risk |
| Condition 1 of type: | Surface |
| Condition 1: | Corrosion, deterioration |
| Condition 2: | Biological growth |
| More details: | Weather wearing to inscriptions. Biological growth all over monument. |
| Condition 2 of type: | Structural |
| Condition 1: | Broken or missing parts |
| More details: | Top of the cross broken off. Crack to the top of the base on west side. |
| Date of on-site inspection: | 11/02/2008 |
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History
| History: | During the Crimean War, captured Finns were held at the old Naval prison in Lewes. Twenty eight of them died in the town. |
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References
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Photographs
Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons | /DSC00285.JPG) Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
/DSC00287.JPG) Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons | /DSC00280.JPG) Author: Anthony McIntosh Copyright: Creative Commons |
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