Bacup War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1928, with an additional inscription commemorating the Fallen of the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Bacup Cenotaph War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it is a dignified war monument, influenced by Sir Edwin Lutyens’ cenotaph at Whitehall, London (Grade I-listed), executed in good quality materials, with careful attention to its form and detailing.

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on Bacup during the First and Second World Wars.

Group value:

* it benefits from a spatial group value with the Grade II-listed Church of St John the Evangelist.

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 in a memorial garden opposite the Grade II-listed Church of St John the Evangelist, Bacup, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the men of Bacup, who lost their lives in the First World War.

The British Legion and United Services Fund Benevolent Committees of Bacup were the bodies responsible for organising the construction of a civic memorial, choosing a design inspired by Sir Edwin Lutyens' Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The cenotaph was erected in 1928, and the unveiling ceremony was held on 17 November 1928 in torrential rain. In spite of the weather, the unveiling was attended by large crowds, numbering in excess of 5,000, who had gathered to mark the occasion. The ceremony began with a half-mile long procession from Stubylee Hall, with the Irwell Springs Band and Stacksteads Band playing music alternatively. The procession was led by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, the Town Clerk, Surgeon F W Rigby, and Mr Edwin Bayliss, the prospective Liberal candidate for Rossendale, together with a blinded veteran: former Trooper Wilfred Birch, who was accompanied and guided by his wife. The most touching part of the whole ceremony was the presence of 21 children wearing the medals awarded to their fathers, who had been killed during the war. A detachment of soldiers, with fixed bayonets formed a guard of honour around the cenotaph, and after a number of speeches were given, it was unveiled by Wilfred Birch. The cenotaph was originally enclosed by a spiked chain slung between stone posts, but this feature has since been removed, and following the Second World War, a further commemorative inscription was added to the south-west face of the cenotaph. The structure continues to function in its intended role and still forms the focus of the town’s commemoration of the Fallen.

Details

First World War memorial, 1928, with an additional inscription commemorating the Fallen of the Second World War.

MATERIALS: ashlar sandstone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in a memorial garden opposite the Church of St John the Evangelist (Grade II). It takes the form of a cenotaph standing on a stone dais with two receding circular steps around a surface laid in rounded stones. It stands approximately 5.5m high and is rectangular in plan. The cenotaph consists of a tall rectangular shaft with canted surfaces, rising from a pedestal that has shouldered and moulded upper surfaces, and a slightly projecting plinth that stands on a rectangular ashlar base. The front (north-west) and rear (south-east) of the shaft, each has a slightly raised panel with an indented lower edge, beneath a plain frieze, with raised carved numerals reading 1914 – 1918. The front panel reads TO OUR / GLORIOUS / DEAD / TELL YE / YOUR / CHILDREN. The rear panel reads IN HONOURED / MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF / BACUP / WHO FELL IN THE / GREAT WAR / THEY DIED THAT WE / MIGHT LIVE IN PEACE. The north-east recessed end panel is un-adorned, and the south-west panel is inscribed 1939 / IN / HONOURED / MEMORY / OF THOSE / WHO FELL/ IN THE / WORLD WAR / 1945.

The upper section of the shaft takes the form of a narrower pedestal, with a plain plinth and a roll moulded abacus. The front and rear faces of the upper section each have the Bacup town crest carved in relief, set within a laurel wreath, whose ribbon ends are recessed into the plinth. The ends each have projecting panels with a bound bay leaf garland and a draped margent. A chest tomb, with a moulded cover and recessed corners, stands on top of the upper pedestal on a two-staged base. The ends of the lower stage have carved square block corners with recessed round shields, separated by stylised fasces, and the front and rear faces have a central square block, with a carved stag (representing peace and harmony) in relief, set between a pair of fasces.

Sources

Websites
Rossendale Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society, accessed 8 March 2017 from http://www.rossendale-fhhs.org.uk/files/war_memorials/bacup_memorial_wwI.html
Imperial War Museum - Bacup, accessed 8 March 2018 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/598?utm_source=ukniwm&utm_medium=rw&utm_campaign=wmalaunch
War Memorials Online - Bacup cenotaph, accessed 8 March 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/140415/
Bacup Home Front, accessed 8 March 2018 from http://www.bacuptimes.co.uk/bsgw.htm

Other
Bacup Times, 17 November 1928 - "Their Name for Evermore", Bacup War Memorial Unveiled Homage to the Fallen

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