Marston War Memorial

Summary

First World War Memorial, around 1920, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Marston War Memorial, erected about 1920, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a simple yet well-designed memorial by monumental masons Stoner of Northwich, with a monumental mason's mark on the north-west bollard.

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.

Group value:

* it benefits from a spatial group value with the scheduled Salt Lion Works and associated Grade II-listed buildings where many of the fallen servicemen worked.

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.

Marston War Memorial was erected in the churchyard south-west of the former Church of St Paul, now the site of Marston Church Hall, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by local servicemen who lost their lives. It was paid for by public donations. The memorial, dedicated to 27 Marston men, was carved by A & S Senior Monumental Masons of Northwich and unveiled by Mr G W Malcolm on Saturday November 13 1920. The ceremony included the Bishop of Chester, and local clergy and dignitaries. Two First World War soldier's war graves also stand in the same churchyard. Following the Second World War the memorial was re-dedicated with the addition of ten names of fallen servicemen. It was restored in 1998, due to subsidence as a result of historic salt mining at the Salt Lion Works where many of the fallen worked.

Details

First World War Memorial, 1920, by A & S Senior Monumental Masons of Northwich.

MATERIALS: sandstone.

PLAN: square plan form.

DESCRIPTION: the freestanding memorial stands in the churchyard south of Marston Church Hall. It comprises a Celtic cross, ornamented with a stone sword of sacrifice, which rests on a chamfered base incised with a heraldic shield (a bend sinister, dexter plant, sinister two ivy leaves) and the words: (front face) TO THE GLORY OF GOD / IN MEMORY OF. It rests on a large tapered and chamfered rectangular plinth with the names of (front face) the 27 Marston servicemen who lost their lives in the First World War and (left, north, return) ten Marston servicemen who lost their lives in the Second World War. The tapered plinth rises from two square chamfered plinths, the upper with the words incised: (front face) WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 – 1918 (left return) WHO FELL IN 1939 – 1945. The memorial is raised on a single-stepped flagged base and stands 3.8 m high. It is enclosed by eight bollards and a chain; the front left corner bollard is incised with the mason's signature SENIOR / NORTHWICH.

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museum War Memorial Register - Marston, accessed 2 July 2020 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/2152
War Memorials Online - Marston WWI & WWII, accessed 2 July 2020 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/139085

Other
Crew Chronicle Saturday November 6 1920
Runcorn Guardian Friday May 22 1914

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