Summary
First World War memorial, 1921, with Second World War addition.
Reasons for Designation
Dent War Memorial, erected 1921, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a dignified monument executed in good quality materials, which provides an elegant and fitting tribute to the Fallen of the district from both World Wars.
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this small rural community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Group value:
* the memorial benefits from a spatial and historic group value with a number of listed structures, including: the Grade I-listed Church of St Andrew, the Grade II-listed Old Grammar School and the Grade II-listed Gateway to the south side of the Churchyard of Church of St Andrew, along with eight nearby cottages on Main Street and Beech Hill, Dent (all Grade II-listed).
History
Dent War Memorial is situated within the churchyard of the Grade I-listed Church of St Andrew (National Heritage List for England (NHLE) 1383978), close to the south wall of the nave. A number of Grade II-listed buildings are situated nearby, including the Old Grammar School (NHLE 1383980), the Gateway to south side of the Churchyard of Church of St Andrew (NHLE 1383979), and eight Grade II-listed cottages in Main Street and Beech Hill, Dent. The memorial commemorates 19 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled in the autumn of 1921, and surviving ex-Servicemen were presented with a gold medal by Lord Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, MP, after the service. After the Second World War, the names of a further four men who fell in that conflict were added to the memorial.
Details
First World War memorial, 1921, with Second World War additions.
MATERIALS: ashlar limestone
DESCRIPTION: Dent War Memorial comprises a wheel head cross on a tapering shaft, mounted on a tapering three-tiered plinth and single-stepped square base, standing on a gravel bed enclosed by low kerbstones. The south face of the memorial bears an inscription in incised lettering on the first and second tiers of the plinth; the inscription on the first tier reads IN HONOUR OF THE MEN/ OF DENT WHO FOUGHT/ AND IN EVER THANKFUL/ MEMORY OF THE MEN/ WHO DIED FOR GOD/ FOR KING, FOR HOME, FOR/ FREEDOM, PEACE AND RIGHT/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918. That on the second tier reads THE IMMORTAL DEAD/ THESE DIED THAT WE AT PEACE MIGHT/ LIVE THESE GAVE THEIR BEST SO WE/ OUR BEST SHOULD GIVE. NOT FOR OUR-/ SELVES. FOR FREEDOM, HOME AND RIGHT/ THEY FOUGHT AND BID US FORWARD/ IN THE FIGHT/ SEE YE TO IT THAT THESE SHALL NOT/ HAVE DIED IN VAIN. There are 19 names of the Fallen from the First World War inscribed on the side faces of the plinth, and the names of the four Fallen of the Second World War are inscribed beneath the date 1939 -1945 on the east face of the plinth.
