Irthington war memorial
St Kentigern Churchyard, Church Close, Irthington, Cumbria, CA6 4PB
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1467588
- Date first listed:
- 02-Dec-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Irthington war memorial
- Statutory Address:
- St Kentigern Churchyard, Church Close, Irthington, Cumbria, CA6 4PB
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1467588
- Date first listed:
- 02-Dec-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Irthington war memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- St Kentigern Churchyard, Church Close, Irthington, Cumbria, CA6 4PB
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- St Kentigern Churchyard, Church Close, Irthington, Cumbria, CA6 4PB
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cumberland (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Irthington
- National Grid Reference:
- NY4984861642
Summary
First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War additions.
Reasons for Designation
Irthington War Memorial, erected 1922, 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 conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* by Messrs Beattie and Co of Carlisle, it is a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a wheel head cross with Celtic knot work carving, executed in good quality grey granite.
Group value:
* it benefits from group value with the Grade II-listed Church of St Kentigern, in whose churchyard it is located.
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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Irthington as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by nine members of the local community, who lost their lives in the First World War.
The war memorial is situated within the churchyard of the Grade II-listed Church of St Kentigern, and was made by prolific stone masons and sculptors Messrs Beattie and Co of Carlisle. It was unveiled on 24 September 1922 by ex-servicemen Mr H Herbert of West Knowe and Mr Robert Irving of Newtown and dedicated by the Bishop of Carlisle. Two additional fallen of the Second World War were added after that conflict.
Details
First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War additions.
MATERIALS: grey granite; lead lettering
DESCRIPTION: the war memorial is situated within the churchyard of the Church of St Kentigern, prominently situated in the corner of the churchyard at a road junction. It takes the form of a wheel head cross with knot work carving and the date 1914-18 carved in relief to the cross head and upper part of a tapering shaft that surmounts a plinth with a single-stepped base. The lower shaft and the plinth bear the inscription in leaded lettering and reads: 1914 - 18// (NAMES)// IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE MEN/ FROM THIS PARISH WHO DIED FOR THEIR/ COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR, THIS CROSS/ WAS ERECTED BY THE PARISHIONERS// ALSO/ IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE FROM THIS PARISH/ WHO DIED DURING/ THE 1939-1945 WAR/ (NAMES).
Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museum Inventory, accessed 25-10-2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/4305
War Memorials Trust Inventory, accessed 25-10-2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/173853/
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 23-Jun-2026 at 07:29:25.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.