Eldwick War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, c1922, by David Wildman, with incised dates and a plaque commemorating those lost during the Second World War added later. Sandstone ashlar. Cenotaph design.

Reasons for Designation

Eldwick war memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* The memorial has strong cultural and historic significance within both a local and national context, and is an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this local community and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;

Architectural interest:

* A distinguished and elegant cenotaph design and a good example of a wayside war memorial.

History

Following the end of the First World War a group of local men had taken a large stone from Eldwick Beck and erected it in the village of Eldwick as a memorial, with the intention of adding a bronze plaque. However, residents of the village objected to the crude memorial and one night the stone was dug out and thrown back in the beck. Eldwick War Memorial Committee was subsequently established to erect a suitable permanent memorial on the same site.

Eldwick war memorial was unveiled on 2 December 1922 by Major S Moore, Chairman of Bingley Council during a service led by Revd S L Evans, Bingley Wesleyan Circuit minister, and Revd F G Badrick, curate of Bingley Parish Church.

The memorial, which was executed by a Mr David Wildman using local stone from Gilstead Moor quarry, cost approximately £150. Insufficient funds were raised through subscription for the memorial so two sweepstakes were held to raise the remainder of the deficit, prompting disquiet from some local people. Further inscribed dates and an additional bronze plaque commemorating those lost during the Second World War were added later.

Details

First World War memorial, c1922, by David Wildman, with incised dates and a plaque commemorating those lost during the Second World War added later. Sandstone ashlar. Cenotaph design.

Eldwick war memorial is a wayside memorial located at the junction of Otley Road and Saltaire Road. Its cenotaph design consists of a square shaft with carved corners and a shallow-stepped base with incised black lettering to the front on each step that reads 'IN/ PERPETUAL/ MEMORY'. The front face of the shaft has incised black numerals bearing the dates '1914/ 1918' to the upper part and the dates '1939/ 1945' to the lower part. Set in between the two sets of dates are two bronze plaques recording the names of those from the district killed during the two world wars. Surmounting the shaft is a cornice and a cap designed as a miniature obelisk with an incised cross set upon a carved base adorned with a carved relief of a laurel wreath. The whole memorial is set upon a square concrete plinth.


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, 1 September 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 1 September 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/28391
War Memorials Online, accessed 1 September 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/238984

Other
Eldwick Beck Conservation Area Assessment. 2009. City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Notice of the unveiling of the memorial in Yorkshire Post & Leeds Intelligencer, 4 December 1922
'Paying for Memorial. Eldwick sweepstake calls forth protests' in The Yorkshire Evening Post, 9 November 1923

End of official list entry

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