Knowsley War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, by Thomas Wickford Potter, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Knowsley War Memorial, erected 1920, 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 in the two World Wars.

Architectural interest:

* a well-executed memorial employing good quality materials and craftsmanship.

Group Value:

* the memorial benefits from a functional and spatial group value with the Grade II* listed Church of St Mary.

History

Knowsley War Memorial was designed by Thomas Wickford Potter, the surveyor of the Knowsley Estate, and was erected during March 1920 on a triangular piece of land known as May Pole Green, at the historic centre of the village. The front of the memorial was deliberately aligned to face the lych-gate leading to the Church of St Mary, to remind the congregation as they came out from church, of the sacrifice of the Fallen. The 30 names of the Fallen were not inscribed on the memorial, but were recorded on a brass memorial plaque installed inside the church. The plaque was unveiled on Palm Sunday, 28 March 1920, by Lady Derby, during a dedicatory service led by the vicar Reverend H Dams, with the lessons and the sermon given by the Bishop of Warrington. The church was filled to over-flowing and following the service, the choir, clergy, dignitaries, and the families of the Fallen formed a procession and were followed by the remainder of the congregation to the village green, where Lord Stanley unveiled the memorial. The proceedings were drawn to a close by the Bishop giving a blessing and Sergeant Richard Hughes of the Royal Army Service Corps sounding the Last Post.

Following the Second World War, a brass plaque recording the eight Fallen of that conflict was placed in the church, and the inscription on the monument was altered to acknowledge that conflict.

Details

First World War memorial, 1920, by Thomas Wickford Potter, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: Portland stone ashlar cross and pink-coloured stone-set surround

DESCRIPTION: a Latin cross with the main elevation facing to the south-east. The sides of the cross are gently canted, it has hollowed semi-circular intersections and the central roundel contains a Lancaster rose carved in relief. All elevations have panels formed by narrow incised lines. The cross is raised on a square battered plinth, with rounded upper surfaces and a rebated tablet set within its south-east elevation, which has gilded incised lettering that reads: IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE/ OF/ THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY/ IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ AND WORLD WAR 1939-1945. The plinth rises off a base formed by two stone steps, on a square-plan stone-set surround.

Sources

Books and journals
Pevsner, N, Pollard, R, The Buildings of England: Lancashire, Liverpool and the South-West, (2006), 224
Farragher, A R, The History of the Borough of Knowsley, (undated), 37
Cox, H, Crockford's Clerical Directory, (1908)

Websites
War Memorials Online - Knowsley Village Memorial Cross, accessed 4 April 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/183278/
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register - Knowsley Village Memorial Cross, accessed 4 April 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/15161
Knowsley Parish Church War Memorial, accessed 4 April 2019 from http://www.knowsleychurch.co.uk/page6.html

Other
Liverpool Echo, 29 March 1920, Page 7, column 5, Knowsley War Memorial
The Prescot Reporter and Hyton-with-Roby, Rainhill and District Observer, 2 April 1920, page 4, columns 6 and 7

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