Woodhouse Mill War Memorial

Summary

War memorial commemorating the First World War and Second World War, 1922, designer unknown.

Reasons for Designation

Woodhouse Mill War Memorial commemorating the First World War and Second World War, 1922, designer unknown, 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 made in the First World War and the Second World War.

Architectural interest:
* a dignified Latin cross of stone with an incised long sword on a high, stepped, square base and plinth, providing a fitting tribute to the lives lost.

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, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and 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 war memorial was raised at Woodhouse Mill as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Woodhouse Mill War Memorial was unveiled and dedicated by the Bishop of Sheffield on 17 April 1922. It commemorated 39 local men who lost their lives in the First World War. The 1:2,500 Ordnance Survey map shows that the memorial was originally located on the west corner of Retford Road and Furnace Lane. Between 1956 and 1969 it was relocated after changes to the road junction to its current position further west along Retford Road in the grounds of a Mission Church.

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

Details

War memorial commemorating the First World War and Second World War, 1922, designer unknown.

MATERIALS: stone.

PLAN: a cross set on a square, stepped base standing on a stepped plinth.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial is set at an angle on the south side of Retford Road adjacent to the former Mission Church. It takes the form of a stone Latin cross with an incised sword carved into the front, north-east face. The base of the shaft is ramped and is inscribed 1939-1945 with nine surnames with initials below. The cross stands on a deep, stepped, stone base with chamfered corners. The upper base block is inscribed TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN PROUD MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF / WOODHOUSE MILL / FENCE & JUNCTION ROAD / WHO LAID DOWN THEIR / LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918. The larger base block has 39 surnames with initials with the inscription beneath “THEY SLEEP WITH ENGLAND’S HEROES / IN THE WATCHFUL CARE OF GOD”. The top step of the plinth below is inscribed AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE WHO / SHARED ITS DANGERS. It stands on a wider plinth step set on a narrower, but deeper stone block. The memorial stands on a square, concrete base.

Sources

Websites
Woodhouse Mill Memorial, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 18 April 1922, p3., accessed 15/01/2019 from https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/19220418/083/0003
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register: Woodhouse Mill WW1 Memorial Cross, reference 27692, accessed 15/01/2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/27692
War Memorials Online: Woodhouse Mill War Memorial, reference 148298, accessed 15/01/2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/148298

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