The war memorial cross of St Cuthbert's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920 and moved in 1969.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial cross of St Cuthbert’s Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, which stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Ann, 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 sacrifices it has made in the First World War;
* Architectural interest: an intricately carved Portland stone memorial cross in the Celtic style;
* Degree of survival: unusually the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration, and thus retains is original design intent;
* Group value: with the Church of St Ann (Grade I-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 the country. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at St Cuthbert’s Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, 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 unveiled on 15 February 1920 by Reverend W M Potts, and dedicated by Reverend J K Banks. The cross cost £308 5s, raised by house-to-house collections in the parish. It is reputed to be the first exterior war memorial raised in the city.

St Cuthbert’s Church was demolished in the 1960s. A Faculty granted on 13 August 1969 permitted the war memorial to be moved c500m to the east, to stand in the churchyard of the Church of St Ann (Grade I). It was refurbished in 2007.

Details

The Portland stone memorial, c4m tall, stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Ann (Grade I-listed), to the south-west of the church tower. It takes the form of a wheel-head cross rising from a pedestal, square on plan. The pedestal stands on a two-stepped base.

The arms of the cross head, and the cross shaft, are ornamented with complex interlace patterns carved in relief, whilst the wheel is decorated with carved concentric circles of rope. The figure of Christ crucified on a plain Latin cross hangs on the front face of the cross head, carved in relief. The upper surfaces of the pedestal are also carved with interlace.

The principal dedicatory inscription incised into the front face of the pedestal reads: 1914-1918/ TO THE EVER LOVING MEMORY/ OF THOSE OF ST. CUTHBERT'S PARISH AND CHURCH/ WHO DIED IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM AND JUSTICE/ IN THE EUROPEAN WAR. The front and side risers of the base are inscribed: LORD ALL PITYING, JESU BLEST/ GRANT THEM THINE ETERNAL REST and FATHER IN THY GRACIOUS KEEPING/ LEAVE WE NOW THY SERVANTS SLEEPING. The commemorated names are carved into the pedestal’s other faces.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 8 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 15/09/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8228
War Memorials Register, accessed 15/09/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/48397
War Memorials Online, accessed 8 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/76643

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