War Memorial in St Lawrence's Churchyard, Biddulph

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled on 4 June 1921.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial in St Lawrence's Churchyard, Biddulph, 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 during the First World War.

Architectural interest:

* A well-executed Celtic wheel-head cross memorial.

Group value:

* With the Grade II*-listed Church of St Lawrence and the Grade II-listed memorials within the churchyard.

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 within St Lawrence’s churchyard at Biddulph as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It was unveiled and dedicated on 4 June 1921 by the Right Reverend Bishop Taylor Smith (Chaplain General of the Forces). Originally, the memorial carried the names of 70 local men who died in the war, with three others added at a later date.

A second memorial was erected for Biddulph in 1922; this is located within the town itself at a prominent road junction.

Details

First World War memorial, erected 1921.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial is located in the churchyard to the north of the Church of St Lawrence (Grade II*- listed); several Grade II-listed memorials are also in the churchyard.

It is of Cornish granite and takes the form of a Celtic wheel-head cross with a knot work design carved in relief to each cross arm and a round emboss to the centre. The wheel has trefoil tracery between the cross arms. The cross-head surmounts a tapering shaft with moulded foot, rising from a two-tier, tapering plinth. Both tiers are four-sided with the lower tier being slightly wider than the upper tier. The whole surmounts a regular-coursed, two-stepped stone base with small square stones to each corner of the lower step. All inscriptions and names are in raised leaded lettering.

The principal inscription is to the front (west) face of the upper tier of the plinth and reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND/ IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF/ THE BIDDULPH MEN WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR/ AUG. 1914 – NOV. 1918/ “THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE”. There is a further inscription to the rear (east) face, which reads THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE.

The lower tier of the plinth carries the names of those who died to all four 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, 31 January 2018.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 24 August 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/68222
‘Biddulph War Memorial’, Roll of Honour, accessed 24 August 2017 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Staffordshire/Biddulph.html
Biddulph & District War Memorials, accessed 24 August 2017 from http://www.bdghs.org.uk/Great%20War/memorials/6stlcross.pdf
War Memorials Online, accessed 31 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253682

Other
‘Biddulph Church War Memorial’, Staffordshire Advertiser, (11 June 1921), pp9

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