Walton Memorial Circa 10 Metres South-West Of Town Hall

Chapel Terrace, Ferryhill, DL17 8JL

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Overview

Memorial to William Walton, about 1906 erected by R Swinburne, stonemason.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1121476
Date first listed:
14-Jun-1988
List Entry Name:
Walton Memorial Circa 10 Metres South-West Of Town Hall
Statutory Address:
Chapel Terrace, Ferryhill, DL17 8JL

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Date:
2003-04-26
Reference:
IOE01/10378/34
Rights:
© Mr Bob Cottrell. Source: Historic England Archive

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1121476
Date first listed:
14-Jun-1988
Date of most recent amendment:
18-Jan-2021
List Entry Name:
Walton Memorial Circa 10 Metres South-West Of Town Hall
Statutory Address 1:
Chapel Terrace, Ferryhill, DL17 8JL

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Chapel Terrace, Ferryhill, DL17 8JL

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
County Durham (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Ferryhill
National Grid Reference:
NZ2880032812

Summary

Memorial to William Walton, about 1906 erected by R Swinburne, stonemason.

Reasons for Designation

The monument to William Walton of about 1906 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* an attractive Art Nouveau design in the form of an obelisk, with intricate decorative detailing;
* it displays good-quality materials and craftsmanship in its design, creating a prominent landmark within the former colliery town.

Historic interest:

* erected by the Dean and Chapter Colliery to recognise the sacrifice of one of its workers in saving other members of the colliery community.

Group value:

* it benefits from a spatial, historic and functional group value with two other (war) memorials, all three of which are sited in close proximity within the town hall garden.

History

This memorial was commissioned by officials and workmen of the Dean and Chapter Colliery in about 1906 to commemorate the death of William Walton. He was returning home from the colliery on the 8 August 1906 when he saw two boys playing with electrical wires. Having intervened to prevent an accident he was himself electrocuted, leaving a widow and four children. By the early C21 the shaft of the memorial was said to be detached but retained nearby. In 2016 it is understood that the memorial was refurbished and a replacement shaft erected.

Details

Memorial to William Walton, about 1906 erected by R Swinburne, stonemason.

MATERIALS: sandstone ashlar.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is Art Nouveau in style. It comprises the base of a fluted obelisk supported by four central leaf-decorated scrolls; the tapering obelisk is an early-C21 replacement. It stands upon a high corniced and panelled pedestal with a moulded plinth and scrolled, foliate diagonal corner buttresses. Each diagonal ends in an impost moulding of arched recessed panels. That on the south has the inscription in Gothic sans serif and Roman scripts: ERECTED / BY THE / OFFICIALS AND WORKMEN / OF THE DEAN AND CHAPTER COLLIERY / To the Memory / OF THE LATE/ WILLIAM WALTON / (OVERMAN) / WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE / IN SAVING THE LIVES / OF TWO BOYS / AT DEAN BANK / AUGUST 8TH 1906.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:
112237
Legacy System:
LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Usherwood, P, Beach, J, Morris, C, Public Sculpture of North-East England, (2000), 259-60

Websites
Durham Mining Museum: Memorial entry, accessed 03 December 2020 from http://www.dmm.org.uk/individ1/i12160.htm

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Walton Memorial Circa 10 Metres South-West Of Town Hall

Map

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

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