Summary

First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War and Iraq War additions.

Description

First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War and Iraq War additions.

MATERIALS: pink/grey conglomerate

The memorial is situated at the entrance to the former churchyard of the Church of St Lawrence. It takes the form of a free standing, roughly-hewn Celtic cross on a short, tapering shaft set upon a two-tiered pedestal, reached by two stone steps. A wreath and a sword (eroded) are carved in half relief over the crosspiece of the cross. The dedications and names are in applied lead lettering. The dedication to the fallen of the First World war is inscribed on the face of the shaft: SACRED/ TO/ THE MEMORY/ OF OUR MEN/ WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES/ IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919. The names are in two columns separated by a vertical line below the dedication on the front face of the upper pedestal. The dedication to the fallen of the Second World War is on the left side of the upper pedestal and reads: TO/ THE/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD/ 1939-1946, (NAMES). The name of a single Royal Military Policeman who fell in Iraq in 2003 has been added to the riser of the lower pedestal.

This List entry has been amended to add the sources for War Memorials Online and North East War Memorials Project. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 12 September 2018.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Middleton One Row as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Middleton One Row St Laurence's War Memorial was erected in 1922 and unveiled and dedicated on 8 April by the Lord Bishop of Durham, Dr Hensley Henson. In 1947 a memorial garden was laid out around the war memorial. The memorial was restored in the late C20 and re-dedicated in 1997.

Reasons for Listing

Middleton One Row War Memorial, which stands within the former churchyard of St Lawrence's Church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20 and the early C21;
* Design: a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a Celtic Cross in a pink/grey conglomerate with relief carving;
* Group value: it benefits from a spatial group value with the adjacent Church of St Lawrence.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478181

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Cumbria: Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)