Rishton War Memorial

Summary

A First World War memorial, unveiled 1923, with later alterations and additions.

Reasons for Designation

Rishton War Memorial, a First World War memorial of 1923, with 1949 alterations and later additional names, by Briggs and Thornely and carved by masons William Kirkpatrick, 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:

* for the strong design interest of the triangular cenotaph, complemented by the later additions;
* for the association with the architects Briggs and Thornely, designers of several listed buildings including New Brighton War Memorial.

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 Rishton as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 187 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

For the first anniversary of the armistice, a temporary cenotaph was erected (this was very common) comprising a large cross made of evergreens within an enclosure of four bollards and chains, also decorated with evergreens. On Sunday 31 October, wreaths and flowers were laid by a procession of over 1,000 people, as a soldier, sailor, scout and guide stood sentinel. A collection was taken towards the cost of a permanent memorial to the inhabitants of Rishton who had given their lives.

The permanent memorial was unveiled on Saturday 6 October 1923 at a ceremony attended by around 6,000 people. Like its later counterpart in nearby Great Harwood, the memorial was in Creetown granite and carved by Messrs William Kirkpatrick. In this case, it was designed by the architects Briggs and Thornely. The flag veiling the memorial was removed by Mrs E Lewis, who lost three sons in the war. Methodist minister Rev JW Bullen MC gave a reading, and O God, Our Help In Ages Past was sung. Rev C Harpur dedicated the memorial, followed by the reading of the Lord’s Prayer, the playing of the Last Post, two minutes’ silence, and the playing of the Reveille. The hymn The Supreme Sacrifice played while wreaths were laid, and the service concluded with a benediction and the playing of the national anthem.

Following the Second World War, the memorial was altered. The original wide, two-stepped bank had a flight of steps inserted to the rear (south), and was replaced at the front of the memorial by a wide flight of steps which partially wrapped round the north-east and north-west sides. In the centre of these steps a tablet was placed with the names of the 23 Fallen inscribed, and a headstone was placed above this with the dates of the war inscribed. Paths were also cut across the grass around the memorial.

The revised memorial was unveiled on Sunday 2 October 1949 by Mrs Mary Brown, mother of Pte W Brown who died in Normandy. A short service was conducted by Methodist minister Rev JH Howe and vicar Rev R Kirkham, after which the parade returned to the council offices.

Although a newspaper report of 1923 stated that the Fallen numbered 185, it appears that the memorial originally only had 180 names. Four names have been added to the south corner (before 2009, and probably before 1949) and two names have been added to the north-west corner (since 2011). A further name has been added to the tablet, from the Korean War. An inscribed stone commemorating Hardy Parsons VC, who was born in Rishton and died in 1917 (but grew up elsewhere and hence is not on the memorial itself), was set into the tarmac surface surrounding the memorial, on the centenary of his death.

Several of the men commemorated were members of the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) of the East Lancashire Regiment. Better known as the ‘Accrington Pals’ battalion, this was raised in ten days in 1914 and largely composed of men from Accrington, Burnley, Blackburn and Chorley and their surroundings. The battalion took part in the 31st Division’s attack on Serre-les-Puisieux on the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916, and a third of its men in action that day were killed (a further 50% were wounded). The bodies of some of these men have not been identified and so they are also commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

Frank Gatley Briggs and (Sir) Arnold Thornely were in a partnership from 1906 until Briggs’s death in 1921; they were also in partnership with Henry Vernon Wolstenholme. Briggs’s name remained in use after his death. Briggs, Wolstenholme and Thornely designed several listed buildings, probably most notably the Port of Liverpool Building (National Heritage List for England (NHLE) entry 1608223). Briggs and Thornely also designed New Brighton’s war memorial, Merseyside (NHLE entry 1116885).

Details

A First World War memorial of 1923, with 1949 alterations and later additional names, by Briggs and Thornely and carved by masons William Kirkpatrick.

MATERIALS: Creetown granite, sandstone steps, iron bollards and rails.

DESCRIPTION: standing in a triangular memorial garden at a road junction.

The memorial comprises a pylon on a tall plinth (6.7m high in total) with a two-stepped base, approached by steps. The pylon is triangular in plan with chamfered corners, a pyramidal top and flared foot. The corners are surmounted by antefixae decorated with anthemion, and a frieze runs below these, between deep channels. Each main face has a raised tablet with a garlanded laurel wreath in high relief, with a regnal crown in relief above the tablet. The front (north) tablet is inscribed: PRO/ PATRIA/ 1914 – 1919.

The plinth is triangular with square corner pillars similar in design to the pylon, with pyramidal tops, anthemion antefixae and a ribbed frieze which continues all around. The names are inscribed in five columns of twelve per face, ordered alphabetically by surname and initial. Where the surname and initial are the same, the second instance is identified by having the place or street name of his residence added. Additional names are found on the face of the west corner (2) and south corner (4). The base is also triangular with cut-off corners, forming an irregular hexagon. The upper step of each face has a decorative low metal rail.

Across the north face of the mound on which the cenotaph stands is a flight of six sandstone steps which return along part of the south-west and north-east faces and terminate in stringers. In the centre of the north face the steps are broken by a granite tablet on a sloping sandstone bed, the tablet being inscribed with the 23 names of the Fallen of the Second World War, and also KOREA and one further name. Above this at the head of the steps is a vertical headstone with shaped top, inscribed 1939 – 1945.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the memorial garden is surrounded by original decorative metal bollards linked by chains.

Sources

Books and journals
Broderick, Kathleen, Rishton Remembered, (1998), historic photographs

Websites
Imperial War Museums war memorials database entry, accessed 12/08/21 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/3309
warmemorials online entry, accessed 12/08/21 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/134482/

Other
'Rishton’s in memoriam', Accrington Observer and Times 08/11/19, Hyndburn District Libraries
‘Rishton’s War Memorial Unveiled’, Accrington Observer and Times 09/10/23, Hyndburn District Libraries
‘Mother unveils scroll at Rishton memorial’, Accrington Observer and Times 04/10/49, Hyndburn District Libraries

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