Summary
First World War memorial, 1918, with carved crucifix forming a French-style Calvary shrine, 1923, and additions for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Utkinton War Memorial, erected 1918 and altered 1923, 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;
* unusually the memorial was erected before the end of the First World War, unlike the majority that were erected during the first half of the 1920s.
Architectural interest:
* for its good-quality design as an unusual French-style road-side Calvary shrine memorial, in the form of a stepped stone base supporting a teak carving of Christ crucified.
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 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 Utkinton, a small rural village approximately halfway between Chester and Winsford. It was built as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by seven members of the local community (two of whom came from nearby Cotebrook), who lost their lives in the First World War. The land for the memorial was given by Captain Arden and the memorial was a gift from Mrs Prestwich of Tirley Garth. It was unveiled at a dedication service led by Reverend Hughes, the Rector of Tarporley, on a wet and stormy Sunday afternoon on 1st September 1918.
In the weeks following the dedication, further works were undertaken to plant an evergreen holly hedge on three sides of the memorial and to establish two circular stone-edged flower borders to its rear. The memorial was erected two months before the First World War had drawn to a close. The original dedication inscription read: THIS MEMORIAL IS RAISED TO THE MEMORY OF THE BRAVE MEN FROM UTKINTON WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR, / 1914 with no end date. A carved crucifix was added to the memorial in 1923 and the dedication was revised to read: DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY / OF THOSE BRAVE MEN / OF UTKINTON WHO FELL / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1919 / PEACE SIGNED AT VERSAILLES / JUNE 28, and an additional name of a soldier from the Machine Gun Corps, who fell on 15 October 1918 was added to the memorial's northern side. Following the Second World War, the name of a sailor who was lost aboard HMS Glorious in June 1940, during the Norwegian Campaign, was also added to the northern side of the memorial. The words of the dedication are separated by interpunct rather than spaces, which is understood to be an unusual feature. In November 1949, the ownership of the memorial was transferred to the Parish Council and it has continued to be the centre of commemoration on Armistice Days and on Remembrance Sundays.
Details
First World War memorial, 1918, with carved crucifix forming a French-style Calvary shrine, 1923, and additions for the Second World War.
Materials: Eddisbury stone podium, ashlar sandstone plinth, and teak crucifix.
The memorial stands in a prominent position at the junction of John Street and Quarry Bank; opposite the former Utkinton Primitive Methodist Chapel. The 3.2m high memorial is raised on a two-step podium of blocks of Eddisbury Stone, and comprises a teak crucifix, giving the memorial the appearance of being a French-style road-side Calvary shrine. The crucifix is set in a square sandstone plinth with chamfered upper edges. The carved figure of Christ has his head raised to the heavens, beneath the lettering I R N I (Latin: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum - Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews), protected by a carved timber canopy. The east (main) face of the plinth is recessed and bears an inscription, which reads: "GREATER·LOVE·HATH·NO·MAN / THAN·THIS". / THEY·GAVE·THEIR·HEARTS·TO·THEIR·HOMES / THEY·GAVE·THEIR·LIVES·TO·THEIR·COUNTRY / THEY·GAVE·THEIR·SOULS·TO·GOD. Six names that are split into two columns of three, are inscribed below the dedication to either side of an intaglio carved cross, set within a cusped recess. The south side of the stone is inscribed: DEDICATED·TO·THE·MEMORY / OF·THOSE·BRAVE·MEN / OF·UTKINTON·WHO·FELL / IN·THE·GREAT·WAR. / 1914-1919 / PEACE·SIGNED·AT·VERSAILLES / JUNE·28. The west (rear) face is without inscription. The north side records two names separated by the inscription 1939-1945; the upper name recording an individual killed during the First World War after the erection of the memorial, and the lower name recording an individual killed during the Second World War.
