Bootle War Memorial (1)
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The Bootle War Memorial is in King's Gardens, Stanley Road,
Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Histo ...
, Sefton,
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, England. It was paid for partly by a grant from the local council, and partly by public subscription. The sculptor was Herman Cawthra, with assistance in the design from Hubert Ernest Bulmer, the borough's art director. The monument consists of a mother and child on top of an
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
, which is surrounded by the figures of three servicemen. It was unveiled in 1922, and the names of those killed in the Second World War were added in 1948. The memorial was recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in 1986, and upgraded to Grade II* in 2018.


History

A War Memorial Sub-Committee was established in 1920 to arrange for the design and erection of a memorial for the town. The borough council agreed to make a grant of £2,000 towards the cost, the difference to be made up by public subscriptions. A grant was unusual because at the time the whole cost of war memorials was usually met by public subscription. Herman Cawthra was selected as sculptor. He worked on the design of the memorial with Hubert Ernest Bulmer, a member of the committee and art director for the borough. Some of Cawthra's models were exhibited at the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
before they were placed on the memorial. The figures were made in the foundry of M. Manenti, and the stonework was built by Henry A. Clegg and Sons of
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. The memorial was unveiled on 15 October 1922 by Major
James Burnie James Burnie MC (10 May 1882 – 15 May 1975) was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician. Family and education Burnie was born in Bootle, Lancashire, the son of Joseph Burnie, a local businessman. He was educated at St John's Schoo ...
in the presence of a large crowd. In 1948 the names of those killed in the Second World War were added to the memorial- It was re-dedicated on 16 April 1950.


Description

The memorial was built in stone from the
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
, and the figures are in bronze, cast by the Maneti foundry. The overall height of the memorial is about , and the figures standing on the base are about high. The base of the monument stands on two circular steps, and has twelve sides divided by
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
s. Between the pilasters are bronze plaques inscribed with the names of the Bootle men who were killed in the World Wars. Standing on the base is a triangular obelisk with concave sides, which carries the figure of a mother holding her child. On the base around the obelisk are three standing figures, a soldier, a sailor, and an airman. Between the figures are three bronze wreathes. On the west side of the memorial is a plaque commemorating the Liverpool Escort Force of the Second World War. An inscription on the monument reads "In grateful memory of over a thousand men from Bootle who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War, 1914-1918".


Appraisal

The memorial was designated as a Grade II listed building on 17 January 1986. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing and is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". It was upgraded to Grade II* on 23 March 2018.


See also

* Grade II* listed war memorials in England * Listed buildings in Bootle


Notes and references

Notes Citations Sources * * * * {{coord, 53.44454, -2.98834, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Merseyside Grade II* listed buildings in Merseyside World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England 1922 sculptures War Memorial Grade II* listed monuments and memorials