Summary
War Memorial of 1923 with additional names of the Second World War, comprising an octagonal cross with wreath and sword, on a stepped base with inscriptions, executed in pale cream stone.
Reasons for Designation
Unsworth War Memorial, a war memorial of 1923 with additional names of the Second World War, 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 elegantly-proportioned variation on the Cross of Sacrifice, displaying good detailing and craftsmanship in the overall design and the original lettering.
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, as a result both of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities, and of 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.
Although located in Unsworth Pole, the memorial is to the Fallen of the whole of Unsworth. The Unsworth War Memorial does not appear on the 1922 1:2,500 Ordnance Survey (OS) map, but this map does show the triangular green which had been created by the straightening of Chapel Lane (now Parr Lane), and a flagstaff is marked within it. The memorial is thought to have been erected in 1923, although it is first marked on the 1:1,250 OS map of 1957. Additional names were added following the Second World War.
Details
First World War memorial of 1923 with additional names of the Second World War.
MATERIALS: pale cream stone.
PLAN: an octagonal cross on a stepped base.
DESCRIPTION: standing within a small green, enclosed on the two eastern sides by attractive earlier railings with a gateway. The octagonal base has two steps with a chamfered plinth to the lower step. Above this is a podium with a stepping, moulded plinth, moulded upper edge and flat top. On this stands the cross, with a moulded and chamfered foot. The tapering shaft is octagonal, as are the arms, which have pointed pommels like that which terminates the shaft. The whole echoes the form of a sword, and the front face (facing NW) is carved with a sword in relief, with a laurel wreath over the centre of the cross. Triangular projections fill each angle of the cross.
The inscriptions are on the podium and base, in well-crafted, serifed lettering. The front (NW) panel of the podium is inscribed: THIS CROSS/ WAS ERECTED BY THE/ PEOPLE OF UNSWORTH/ AS A TOKEN OF DEEP/ GRATITUDE TO THOSE WHO/ LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ - AD - / 1914-1918./ “GREATER LOVE HATH/ NO MAN THAN THIS.”
The inscription continues anti-clockwise, with the names of the Fallen, nine on some faces and eight on others, totalling 60, listed alphabetically by surname and without ranks. Beneath these panels, immediately above the top step of the base, the plinth of the podium is inscribed with the theatres of war, beginning with France under the dedication, and continuing anti-clockwise with Salonica, Mesopotamia, Italy, Egypt, Jutland, Gallipoli, and Belgium.
The central three risers of the top step of the base are inscribed with the names of the Fallen from the Second World War, starting to the left of the dedication, listed alphabetically and totalling eight. The central riser of the lower step of the base is inscribed with the dates 1939-1945.
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, 20 July 2017.
