Runcorn War Memorial was built to commemorate the servicemen of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

lost in active service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It was unveiled on

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

1920 at 3:30pm, beginning a tradition of afternoon services. In 1948, the memorial was rededicated and the names of those lost in the Second World War were added. An inscribed stone was added later with the names of those lost in subsequent conflicts. The memorial, set in a small garden, consists of a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

in white

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

on a

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In c ...

and steps. The names of the war dead are inscribed on a wall behind the cross. The memorial is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, an ...

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 ...

Location and history

The war memorial stands in a small garden at the junction of Greenway Road, Weston Road and Moughland Lane in Higher Runcorn. It was designed by James Wilding, and was unveiled on 14 November 1920 by Colonel William Bromley Davenport, the Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Chester, and by R. H. Posnett, Chairman of Runcorn Urban District Council. It was re-dedicated on 7 November 1948 when the names of those lost in the Second World War were recorded. Later a further inscribed stone was added with the names of those lost in subsequent conflicts.

Description

The memorial is built in white granite from Kit Hill Quarry,

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and consists of a Latin cross, the shaft of which is about high. The shaft stands on an octagonal plinth on a base of three octagonal steps. At the base of the shaft are scrolled brackets. The memorial is set in a small garden, on a paved platform, and is approached from the road by a set of steps. The face of the plinth facing the road is inscribed "FOR OUR SAKE", the face to the left is inscribed "1914" and that to the right "1918". The top step is inscribed "1939–1945". Behind the cross is a

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

wall divided into five sections by six

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, each section containing a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

plaque. Each plaque carries an inscription and names of the 361 local servicemen who died in the First World War. On the piers are plaques containing the names of the 119 servicemen who died in the Second World War. The granite stone in front of the cross is inscribed with the names of those lost in later conflicts.

Appraisal

The memorial was designated as a Grade II listed building on 15 September 2016. Grade II is the lowest of the three grades of listing, and is applied to "buildings

hat are A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

are of special interest". The reasons for designating this building are its historic interest "as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries"; and its architectural interest as being "a tall and imposing memorial cross standing on a wide platform designed for ceremonial use defined by a memorial wall to the rear".

War Memorial Garden

There is a memorial garden opposite the memorial cross. It has a statue of Thomas Alfred Jones, from Runcorn, who was awarded a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{reflist Grade II listed buildings in Cheshire Buildings and structures in Runcorn 1920 sculptures Grade II listed monuments and memorials World War I memorials in England World War II memorials in England Monuments and memorials in Cheshire