Cliviger War Memorial

Summary

A First World War Memorial, 1922, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Cliviger War Memorial, which is located on Burnley Road beside the churchyard of the Church of St John, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a simple but elegant design of a granite Latin cross.

Group value:

* with the Church of St John the Divine (Grade II) and the Ram Inn (Grade II).

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 at Holme Chapel as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 24 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Based on the inscription on the memorial itself, Cliviger War Memorial appears to have been unveiled in 1922 and replaced a temporary shrine memorial which was dedicated in 1920 and afterwards removed into the church. It was built by Messrs Maile and Sons of Euston Road, London, who were sculptors and church furnishers responsible for building many war memorials across the country, including those at Bishopsgate, Pirton, Winlaton and Old Woking (all Grade II-listed).

The memorial stands on a gravelled area within a larger enclosed garden, bounded by stone retaining walls, which has been built into the embankment leading up to the church. This had been remodelled from an earlier enclosure.

Following the Second World War the names of the fallen from that conflict were added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, 1922.

MATERIALS: granite, lead.

DESCRIPTION: Cliviger War Memorial is located on Burnley Road within its own enclosed garden beside the western corner of the churchyard of the Church of St John the Divine (Grade II-listed) adjacent to the church lychgate. The memorial is overlooked to the south-west by the Grade II-listed Ram Inn.

The memorial takes the form of a rough-hewn granite Latin cross with a tapering shaft which rises from a plinth on a square base set on a concrete platform. Three faces of the plinth, those bearing inscriptions, are recessed.

The north face of the plinth bears the inscription, in lead lettering: ERECTED/ IN PROUD MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ SEPT 1922 with the names of the fallen from this conflict recorded on the east and west faces. The top of the base bears the inscription 1939 – 1945 on its north side with the seven names from this conflict recorded on all sides of the top of the base. The north face of the base reads: THE SHRINE DEDICATED ON TRINITY SUNDAY MAY 30TH 1920/ REMOVED INTO THE CHURCH. The builders’ details are recorded on the west face of the base.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 17 August 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/159804/
War Memorial Register, accessed 17 August 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/62515

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