Commondale War Memorial
Sandhill Bank, Commondale, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO21 2HG
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1440919
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Commondale War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Sandhill Bank, Commondale, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO21 2HG
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1440919
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Commondale War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Sandhill Bank, Commondale, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO21 2HG
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Sandhill Bank, Commondale, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO21 2HG
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- North Yorkshire (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Commondale
- National Park:
- North York Moors
- National Grid Reference:
- NZ6627210499
Summary
First World War memorial, unveiled 1921, designed by WH Earl.
Reasons for Designation
Commondale War Memorial, at the bottom, west, end of Sandhill Bank, 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 stone cross;
* Materials: the memorial has unusual salt-glazed stoneware panels, with stamped lettering carrying the memorial wording.
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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Commondale 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 by Lord Gisborough at an ecumenical ceremony held on 31 August 1921. It was designed by WH Earl of Danby and made by J Ford of Castleton. The memorial commemorates ten local servicemen who died in the First World War, including two young shepherds who are also commemorated on the Commondale Shepherds’ Memorial (Grade II). The unusual salt-glazed stoneware panels that record the inscriptions were conceivably made by the London and Cleveland Fire Brick Co Ltd Brick and Pipe Works in the village.
Details
The war memorial stands at the bottom, west, end of Sandhill Bank, overlooking Sandhill Bridge. It comprises a stone Latin cross on a short tapering square-sectioned shaft. This rises from a plinth, set on a four-stage square base. The memorial stands within railings set in a stone kerb.
Set in to the plinth are brown salt-glazed stoneware tablets on which are stamped (front face) IN HONOURED/ MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF/ COMMONDALE,/ WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR/ GOD, KING, AND/ COUNTRY, IN THE/ GREAT WAR./ 1914-1918. (Rear) THEIR NAME/ SHALL REMAIN/ FOR EVER: AND/ THEIR GLORY/ SHALL NOT BE/ BLOTTED OUT.”/ LEST WE FORGET. The names of those who died appear on side panels. A fifth, smaller, panel set into the upper step records DRESSED & ERECTED BY/ J.FORD. CASTLETON./ DESIGNED BY/ W.H. EARL, DANBY.
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, 20 February 2017.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 20 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/30449
War Memorials Online, accessed 20 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/157391
Other
“A North Riding Village Memorial”, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 1 September 1921, p8
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed building is shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 19-Jun-2026 at 23:24:31.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.