Bolton-Upon-Dearne War Memorial

Summary

First World War Memorial. 1925 to a design by architect George Pennington incorporating inscribed panels by sculptors Tyas and Guest of Swinton. Sandstone, red brick, red tiles.

Reasons for Designation

Bolton-upon-Dearne War Memorial, a First World War memorial designed by George Pennington of Garside & Pennington, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a poignant reminder of the tragic impact of world events upon an individual community, commemorating the men from the village of Bolton-upon-Dearne who lost their lives fighting in the First World War;
* Local interest: built at the instigation of the local schoolmaster, Mr T Washington, to commemorate the old boys of the village Board School, using as its basis the historic stones of an inglenook fireplace said to have originated in a local priory, latterly from a demolished cottage in the village;
* Design: a highly unusual and quirky memorial design in the form of a roofed inglenook fireplace by architect George Pennington, symbolising 'hearth and home', with a central, square plinth in the form of a Roman altar emphasizing the sacrifice of the men who died protecting their country's liberty, and a touching testament of acknowledgement and gratitude by the community

History

This unusual First World War memorial was erected in 1925 to a design by George Pennington of architects' practice Garside & Pennington of Pontefract and Castleford, who drew up the plans for no charge.

The memorial was erected at the instigation of Mr T Washington, the headmaster of Bolton-upon-Dearne Board School, to commemorate the old boys from the school who had lost their lives during the First World War. It incorporates an inglenook fireplace which is said to have originated in a priory before being installed in a cottage on the High Street. The stones were salvaged when the cottage was demolished by Wath Main Colliery Company which was the owner. Mr Washington then approached the colliery to request that the fireplace be preserved as a war memorial and a relic of old Bolton-upon-Dearne architecture. £60 was raised and former old boys Arthur and Ernest Hurrell, a stonemason and bricklayer respectively, refaced the stone and built the memorial. The inscribed panels were made by Messrs Tyas and Guest of Swinton, who have a number of listed South Yorkshire war memorials to their name.

The memorial was unveiled by Mr G H Ashwin, General Manager of Wath Main Colliery.

Details

First World War Memorial. 1925 to a design by architect George Pennington incorporating inscribed panels by sculptors Tyas and Guest of Swinton. Sandstone, red brick, red tiles.

PLAN: rectangular inglenook fireplace with hipped roof built against gable wall of playground shelter (rest of shelter now demolished).

DESCRIPTION: the front elevation of the memorial is constructed of ashlar sandstone with a wide, segmental-arched fireplace with chamfered stone voussoirs and jambs, and ashlar quoin stones to the outer corners. The inner faces of the deep fireplace aperture are faced in brick laid in English garden wall bond (5:1). Above the arch is a slightly-projecting, square-cut mantel string incorporating two moulded wooden corbels. Diagonal wooden brackets rise from the corbels to support the deeply overhanging eaves of a tiled, hipped roof. Between the mantel string and eaves is an ashlar mantelpiece. In the centre are two slightly-inset square stone panels separated by a stone mullion. A stone lintel is inscribed 1914 IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE OLD BOYS OF THIS SCHOOL / WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR 1918. Each panel is inscribed with twenty names, a number bearing the same surnames. Five further names are inscribed on the mantel string. Flanking the panels are two small, unadorned, relief crosses. Within the fireplace is a square pedestal, analogous to a Roman altar, set on a plinth, with a square, ashlar top inscribed round the edge THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 31 January 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 31 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/28039
War Memorials Online, accessed 31 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/96177

End of official list entry

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