Wharton War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920.

Reasons for Designation

Wharton War Memorial, which stands in Christ Church churchyard, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest: an elegant Calvary memorial built in an unusual combination of timber and stone;
* Degree of survival: unusually, the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration, and thus retains its original design intent.

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, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

Wharton War Memorial was unveiled on 17 July 1920 by Mrs Newall and dedicated by Reverend Canon Hughes. It commemorates 78 servicemen from the parish who died during the First World War. The memorial was designed by Messrs Powles and King and built by Mr F Plumbley.

Messrs Powles and King designed a number of war memorials in Cheshire, most of which are memorial crosses but also the memorial lychgate to the churchyard of St Mary and All Angels, Great Budworth (Grade II-listed). Mr Plumbley was a local builder who also installed the memorial cross for Winsford Wesleyans and the memorial gas lantern at Winsford United Reformed Church.

Details

The memorial stands in the churchyard of Christ Church, to the north-west of the church (not listed). Approximately 5m tall, the Darley stone and timber memorial takes the form of a hooded Calvary. The wooden crucifixion scene rises from the moulded foot of the cross head, supported on a slender octagonal shaft. Each side of the wooden shaft is carved with a very narrow blind Gothic arch. The moulded foot of the cross shaft stands on a low stone octagonal pedestal. That is raised on the large stone octagonal plinth, which stands on a three-stepped base.

Incised into the front face of the pedestal is GREATER LOVE/ HATH NO MAN/ THAN THIS. Below on the plinth the principal dedicatory inscription reads NEARLY 500 MEN/ FROM THE PARISH OF WHARTON/ SERVED KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR OF 1914-19./ OF THESE/ 78 LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR US,/ WHO, WITH LOVE AND REVERENCE/ ERECT THIS CROSS/ TO THEIR GLORIOUS MEMORY. The commemorated names are listed on the other face of the plinth.

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, 23 November 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 27/06/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/10041
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253624

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