Lambley and Hartleyburn War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920.

Reasons for Designation

Lambley and Hartleyburn War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of the parish 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 First World War;
* Architectural interest: an elegant memorial cross;
* Degree of survival: unusually the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration, and thus retains its original design intent;
* Group value: with the Church of St Mary and St Patrick, and with the Robinson gravestone, both Grade II-listed.

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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Lambley as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by four members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

On 21 February 1920, following a church service led by the vicar of Lambley, Reverend CH Gulliver, the memorial was unveiled by Sir Thomas Oliver, and dedicated by the vicar of Haltwhistle, Reverend EB Hicks. The cost of the memorial was raised by public subscription. Part of the churchyard wall had been removed and replaced by railings so that the memorial could be seen from the road.

Details

The memorial stands in the south-east corner of the churchyard of the Church of St Mary and St Patrick (Grade II-listed). Approximately 3m tall, the cross is made of Aberdeen granite. The cross head is in the form of the St Cuthbert cross, with a central hemispherical boss. The tapering cross shaft rises from a small pedestal, square on plan. The pedestal stands on a stepped base of Kenton freestone. The memorial cross is enclosed by a square stone kerb.

The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the cross shaft is in applied metal lettering, reading ERECTED/ BY/ PUBLIC/ SUBSCRIPTION/ IN/ HONOURED/ MEMORY/ OF/ (4 NAMES)/ WHO/ SACRIFICED THEIR/ LIVES/ IN THE WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ “TO THE GLORY OF GOD.” The front face of the pedestal is inscribed GREATER LOVE HATH NO/ MAN THAN THIS/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN/ HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.

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
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 15/08/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7832
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/34004
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253792

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