Lucker War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Lucker War Memorial, which stands circa 30m to the SW of The Old Vicarage, 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;
* Architectural interest: an elegant memorial cross in the Gothic style;
* Group value: with The Old Vicarage and other adjacent heritage assets listed at Grade II.

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 Lucker as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was dedicated by the Bishop of Newcastle on 13 November 1920. It commemorates 13 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The memorial was designed by Professor Hatton of Armstrong College, and carved by Edwin Smyth of Sunderland. Messrs Tully and Sons of Belford prepared the foundations and base. Following the Second World War the names of one nurse and two servicemen who died in that conflict were added.

Richard George Hatton (1864-1926), modeller, silversmith, enameller, painter and author, was born in Birmingham. He taught at the Birmingham Central School of the Municipal School of Art in the 1880s, moving to Newcastle-upon-Tyne by 1891. In 1899 he formed the Newcastle Handicrafts Company, later becoming professor at the King Edward VII School of Art, Armstrong College (University of Durham). The Hatton Gallery, Newcastle, was founded in his honour in 1925. His other war memorial design was the commemorative stained glass window in St James’ Church, Shilbottle.

Edwin Smyth (active 1920-1957) was a sculptor and mason, born in Sunderland. He was apprenticed as a stone mason circa 1900 and studied at Sunderland School of Art. Messrs Tully and Sons of Belford, builders and masons, were also responsible for work on the war memorials at Lowick, Wooler and Belford (all Grade II-listed).

Details

The memorial stands in the road junction opposite The Old Vicarage and the Old Vicarage’s Garden Walls, Gatepiers, and Gates (all Grade II-listed). The tall memorial, more than 5m tall and made in Doddington Sandstone, comprises an equal-armed cross rising from a gabled pillar. The pillar is square in section, with a blind arch to each side. The pillar stands on a three-stage base, which stands on a step.

The upper stage of the base, ornamented around the top with carved cusps of foliage, bears the principal dedicatory inscription with a phrase carved into each face.

(north face) THIS CROSS THE/ SIGN OF OUR FAITH/ WAS RAISED/ (west face) IN GRATEFUL/ REMEMBRANCE/ OF THESE MEN/ (south face) WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES IN DEFENCE OF/ RIGHTEOUSNESS/ (east face) AND FREEDOM/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919.

The commemorated First World War names are incised into the faces of the middle stage, with at the foot of the east face the dates 1939 – 1945. Below this the three Second World War names are incised into the face of the lowest stage of the base. The First World War names are placed on the face that was closest to where each person lived.

Originally on a grassy triangle, the memorial now stands on a circular pavement and is enclosed by a spiked chain that hangs from low posts.

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 16/08/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7859
University of Glasgow, Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, accessed 16/08/2016 from http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1205928727
University of Glasgow, Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, accessed 16/08/2016 from http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib5_1240312109
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/33491
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253791

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