Russian Memorial, Lewes
Encyclopedia
The Russian Memorial is an obelisk
in the churchyard of St John sub Castro
in Lewes
, the county town
of East Sussex
, England . It was erected in 1877 at the behest of Alexander II
, Emperor of Russia
, in memory of 28 Finnish
soldiers of the Russian Army of the Crimean War who died while prisoners of war in Lewes between 1854 and 1856. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II listed building.
was declared in March 1854. In June, concerned at the possible threat posed to Britain by the Russian Baltic Fleet
, the Royal Navy
attacked the fortress of Bomarsund
, in the Åland Islands
off the coast of Finland. That attack was repulsed, but a further attack by British and French forces in August proved successful. The fortress was destroyed and prisoners taken to Britain and France. Some 340 members of the Fusilier Grenadiers were taken to Lewes
, in Sussex
. The officers were Russian, but the men were mostly Finns – Finland was part of the Russian Empire
at the time and many of the defenders of Bomarsund had been Finnish conscripts.
The officers, having given their parole, were housed with local families and integrated themselves into local society. After "several of the leading gentlemen of the county [had] been introduced to the officers, and others left their cards
", the officers went riding, appearing "delighted with the salubrity of the air", were invited to shoot on a local estate, succeeding in "bagging a large quantity of game", and attended a charity concert in Brighton
. Such freedom of movement left them "frequently subjected to annoyance, insult, and even personal violence from the low characters who loiter in the streets", though the local magistrates dealt severely with such offences.
The men were confined in the old County Gaol, which had been given a new lease of life as a naval prison. A workshop was set up so that they could produce wooden toys for sale to the public to earn themselves pocket money. By October 1854, it was reported that: The prison became quite a tourist attraction, admitting as many as 500 visitors in a day, and some days the sale of toys brought in as much as £40 (£ at today's prices). The receipts were used to purchase additional food and luxuries: according to the Times, "it has been said that they are too well fed", and "scarcely a prisoner is without a watch, and many of the time-pieces are of gold". The generous treatment afforded to the Finnish prisoners was not universally popular: a letter to the Times spoke of general disgust that:
After a group of men had refused to go out for exercise unless accompanied by three of their number in solitary confinement for misconduct, and their protest had escalated to armed rebellion, 25 of the ringleaders were removed to a prison ship at Sheerness
, and the remainder locked in their own cells at night. By September 1855, 15 prisoners had died of disease – tuberculosis
was prevalent. The death-toll would rise to 28 by the end of their incarceration, and the dead were buried in the nearby churchyard of St John sub Castro
.
The prisoners' popularity in Lewes remained undimmed. When peace was concluded between Britain and Russia in 1856, and the time came for their return home, the parting "is said to have been genuinely sorrowful". The commanding officer publicly thanked the people of Lewes and wrote to the Senior Constable on behalf of his fellow officers, expressing gratitude for having "enjoyed the hospitality of many, and urbane treatment from all" and spoke of their pleasure at the prospect of returning home being "much modified by the regret we feel in thus bidding farewell to those who have shown so much kindness". After a civic farewell, the townsfolk lined the streets to watch them leave.
, a monument was commissioned to commemorate those 28 Finnish prisoners of war who died during their captivity. Designed by Philip Currey and made by local mason John Strong in a neo-Gothic
style, it stands in the churchyard of St John sub Castro
, near the site of the naval prison, on the spot where the deceased were buried. The Times reported that on 1 May 1877, the work was inspected and approved by General Alexander Gorloff, the Russian military attaché
. Set on a round plinth above an octagonal stone base, the monument takes the form of an octagonal drum with cusped arches separated by granite
shafts, above which the stonework tapers in the form of a spire, topped by an octagonal tabernacle
and a cross. The whole is 17 feet (5.2 m) in height.
Each arch surrounds an inscribed panel. That on the east side reads "Sacred to the Memory of the Russian Soldiers who died Prisoners of War in Lewes in the years 1854 1855 1856", and on the west reads "Raised by Order of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia Alexander II 1877", and now carries an addition to show that the Soviet Embassy restored the memorial in 1957. The north panel reproduces the wording from the "simple Head Stone" placed over the original burial by "their Surviving Comrades": "Erected by the Finlanders Russian Prisoners of War as a Memorial of their Countrymen and fellow Prisoners who died During their Captivity in Lewes War Prison". That on the south side has four lines of verse, also transcribed from the first memorial, and the intervening panels are inscribed with the names of the 28 deceased.
The memorial was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 29 October 1985. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,162 Grade II listed buildings, and 1,250 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Lewes.
of an opera, The Finnish Prisoner
, set to music by Orlando Gough
and incorporating the song Oolannin sota. The opera received its world premiere in Lewes in 2007 under the direction of Susannah Waters
with a cast of professional singers including members of the Finnish National Opera, a locally recruited amateur chorus, and a chorus of children. The production was the subject of a Finnish television programme which included material related to the memorial.
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
in the churchyard of St John sub Castro
Church of St John sub Castro, Lewes
The Church of St John sub Castro is an Anglican church in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, England . It was built in 1839 on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
in Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, the county town
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England . It was erected in 1877 at the behest of Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, Emperor of Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, in memory of 28 Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
soldiers of the Russian Army of the Crimean War who died while prisoners of war in Lewes between 1854 and 1856. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II listed building.
Background
What became known as the Crimean WarCrimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
was declared in March 1854. In June, concerned at the possible threat posed to Britain by the Russian Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
attacked the fortress of Bomarsund
Bomarsund, Åland
The Battle of Bomarsund was fought by an Anglo-French task force against Russian defenses at Bomarsund during the Crimean War.-Background:Bomarsund is a 19th century fortress which had started to built in 1832 by Russia in Sund on the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea...
, in the Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
off the coast of Finland. That attack was repulsed, but a further attack by British and French forces in August proved successful. The fortress was destroyed and prisoners taken to Britain and France. Some 340 members of the Fusilier Grenadiers were taken to Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
, in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. The officers were Russian, but the men were mostly Finns – Finland was part of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
at the time and many of the defenders of Bomarsund had been Finnish conscripts.
The officers, having given their parole, were housed with local families and integrated themselves into local society. After "several of the leading gentlemen of the county [had] been introduced to the officers, and others left their cards
Visiting card
A visiting card, also known as a calling card, is a small paper card with one's name printed on it. They first appeared in China in the 15th century, and in Europe in the 17th century...
", the officers went riding, appearing "delighted with the salubrity of the air", were invited to shoot on a local estate, succeeding in "bagging a large quantity of game", and attended a charity concert in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Such freedom of movement left them "frequently subjected to annoyance, insult, and even personal violence from the low characters who loiter in the streets", though the local magistrates dealt severely with such offences.
The men were confined in the old County Gaol, which had been given a new lease of life as a naval prison. A workshop was set up so that they could produce wooden toys for sale to the public to earn themselves pocket money. By October 1854, it was reported that: The prison became quite a tourist attraction, admitting as many as 500 visitors in a day, and some days the sale of toys brought in as much as £40 (£ at today's prices). The receipts were used to purchase additional food and luxuries: according to the Times, "it has been said that they are too well fed", and "scarcely a prisoner is without a watch, and many of the time-pieces are of gold". The generous treatment afforded to the Finnish prisoners was not universally popular: a letter to the Times spoke of general disgust that:
After a group of men had refused to go out for exercise unless accompanied by three of their number in solitary confinement for misconduct, and their protest had escalated to armed rebellion, 25 of the ringleaders were removed to a prison ship at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
, and the remainder locked in their own cells at night. By September 1855, 15 prisoners had died of disease – tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
was prevalent. The death-toll would rise to 28 by the end of their incarceration, and the dead were buried in the nearby churchyard of St John sub Castro
Church of St John sub Castro, Lewes
The Church of St John sub Castro is an Anglican church in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, England . It was built in 1839 on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
.
The prisoners' popularity in Lewes remained undimmed. When peace was concluded between Britain and Russia in 1856, and the time came for their return home, the parting "is said to have been genuinely sorrowful". The commanding officer publicly thanked the people of Lewes and wrote to the Senior Constable on behalf of his fellow officers, expressing gratitude for having "enjoyed the hospitality of many, and urbane treatment from all" and spoke of their pleasure at the prospect of returning home being "much modified by the regret we feel in thus bidding farewell to those who have shown so much kindness". After a civic farewell, the townsfolk lined the streets to watch them leave.
Memorial
At the behest of Tsar Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, a monument was commissioned to commemorate those 28 Finnish prisoners of war who died during their captivity. Designed by Philip Currey and made by local mason John Strong in a neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style, it stands in the churchyard of St John sub Castro
Church of St John sub Castro, Lewes
The Church of St John sub Castro is an Anglican church in Lewes, the county town of East Sussex, England . It was built in 1839 on the site of an 11th-century Saxon church, and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
, near the site of the naval prison, on the spot where the deceased were buried. The Times reported that on 1 May 1877, the work was inspected and approved by General Alexander Gorloff, the Russian military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
. Set on a round plinth above an octagonal stone base, the monument takes the form of an octagonal drum with cusped arches separated by granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
shafts, above which the stonework tapers in the form of a spire, topped by an octagonal tabernacle
Church tabernacle
A tabernacle is the fixed, locked box in which, in some Christian churches, the Eucharist is "reserved" . A less obvious container, set into the wall, is called an aumbry....
and a cross. The whole is 17 feet (5.2 m) in height.
Each arch surrounds an inscribed panel. That on the east side reads "Sacred to the Memory of the Russian Soldiers who died Prisoners of War in Lewes in the years 1854 1855 1856", and on the west reads "Raised by Order of His Majesty the Emperor of Russia Alexander II 1877", and now carries an addition to show that the Soviet Embassy restored the memorial in 1957. The north panel reproduces the wording from the "simple Head Stone" placed over the original burial by "their Surviving Comrades": "Erected by the Finlanders Russian Prisoners of War as a Memorial of their Countrymen and fellow Prisoners who died During their Captivity in Lewes War Prison". That on the south side has four lines of verse, also transcribed from the first memorial, and the intervening panels are inscribed with the names of the 28 deceased.
The memorial was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 29 October 1985. This status is given to "nationally important buildings of special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 1,162 Grade II listed buildings, and 1,250 listed buildings of all grades, in the district of Lewes.
List of names
Abraham Lindfors, Erik Kivi, Matts Mort, Adolf Granat, Matts Lilja, Carl Boll, John Kive; Johan Rof, David Kihl, Carl Udd, Matts Hellman, Carl Wec(?h/k)tars, Michel Gronroos, Victor Wass; Johan Mail, Gustaf (?)Husar, Johan Hellen, Gustaf Kyro, Victor Walander, Joel (?Inlo), Matts Lindstrom; Carl Grod Sergeant, Michel Sett, Micha Mild, Johan Oinstrom, Matts Asp, Carl Lind, Joseph Storm.Legacy
A popular Finnish folk-song, Oolannin sota (Crimean War), evolved from the earlier Ålandin sota laulu (Åland war song) which tells of the prisoners' capture and imprisonment in Lewes and is thought to have been written by one of the Lewes prisoners during his captivity. Stephen Plaice used the story as the inspiration for the librettoLibretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
of an opera, The Finnish Prisoner
The Finnish Prisoner
The Finnish Prisoner is an opera by Orlando Gough, first performed in 2007. Stephen Plaice wrote the English-language libretto based on the true story of Finnish prisoners of war incarcerated in England during the Crimean War.-Background:...
, set to music by Orlando Gough
Orlando Gough
Orlando Gough is a British composer, educated at Oxford, and noted for projects written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Collaborators have included Siobhan Davies, Alain Platel, Shobana Jeyasingh and Ashley Page of The Royal Ballet. He is artistic director of The Shout, which he...
and incorporating the song Oolannin sota. The opera received its world premiere in Lewes in 2007 under the direction of Susannah Waters
Susannah Waters
Susannah Waters is a British soprano. Born in London, England, she attended both Bennington College and the Guildhall School of Music.She made her New York debut early in her career, as Belinda in Dido and Æneas at Symphony Space , a production that toured to New Orleans...
with a cast of professional singers including members of the Finnish National Opera, a locally recruited amateur chorus, and a chorus of children. The production was the subject of a Finnish television programme which included material related to the memorial.
External links
- Photos of the Russian Memorial at Public Sculptures of Sussex