Princethorpe Cemetery is situated on the Leamington Road, Princethorpe, at the entrance to Princethorpe College
The image shows the War Memorial which was restored in 2018 with donations from the parishioners and a grant from the War Memorial Trust.
Remembrance Sunday
As Covid-19 restrictions are currently in place St Anne’s parish was unable to process to the Memorial today. However, a small group of St Anne’s parishioners stood, socially distanced, at the Memorial in Princethorpe Cemetery just before 11.00am.
One of the parishioners read the poem ‘Lest We Forget’, Binyon’s Ode of Remembrance, as others thought about the war dead in quiet contemplation.
The two-minute silence was broken with the prayer Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them.
The extension, image below, to the Princethorpe Cemetery is taking shape.
Work has progressed with the area being cleared and seeded and a gated opening on the Leamington Road created.
Approximately 100 parishioners, members of the Princethorpe village community, friends and visitors processed down the Princethorpe College drive after the 10.00am Mass to begin the re-dedication and blessing at 10.45am in time for the two minute national silence at 11.00am.
We would like to thank the War Memorials Trust for their generous donation of £3750.00 towards the £6000.00 cost of restoring the memorial.
We must also thank the many parishioners and friends who have supported our target to ensure the funding for the memorial was raised. Special thanks to Mr Rory O’Connor of Historic Buildings Restoration for his diligence and professional expertise.
The First World War memorial was erected by the Benedictine nuns of St Mary’s Priory, now Princethorpe College. A dedication service was held on 18 September 1922.
The memorial was in a poor state of repair. The restoration began with the removal of the Corpus (which we now discover is cast iron coated with an ivory coloured enamel) and the original oak cross – rotten, warped and desperately in need of replacement.
Princethorpe War Memorial
To raise funds for the restoration the parish held a dinner at Harrington’s Restaurant in Kenilworth. Further donations came from a raffle at the recently held parish summer BBQ.
The cemetery at St Anne’s also has a rich history with the oldest grave dating from 1800s.