Barton-upon-Humber War Memorial

Summary

War memorial, erected 1921, stone column surmounted by a crucifix, set on a stone podium.

Reasons for Designation

Barton-upon-Humber War Memorial, erected 1921 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design interest: it is a dignified monument executed in good quality materials, which provides an elegant and fitting tribute to the Fallen of the town from both World Wars.

History

The Barton-upon-Humber war memorial stands within the ‘New Main Entrance’ to Barton-upon-Humber Cemetery: it was created as a memorial to the 165 men of the town who fell during the First World War. The first proposal for the creation a memorial was made by a War Memorials committee as early as December 1917, but the decision to erect a memorial at the proposed new main entrance to Barton-upon-Humber Cemetery was not made until July 1920 and the surveyor of the Urban District Council was asked to produce a detailed sketch. However, a commercially available ‘pattern book’ design was chosen.

Upon the completion of the memorial, it was unveiled on Sunday 3rd April 1921 at an ecumenical ceremony, which was attended by large crowds and was accompanied by a brass band. Remarkably, the lettering on the memorial deteriorated and had to be re-cut in 1928. In 1948, an additional inscription and two tablets were added to commemorate the 48 men and women killed during the Second World War, and in 2013, three additional tablets were attached to the memorial, listing a further 33 names based on research undertaken by the Barton Living Memorial Trust. As originally built, the memorial stood within a small square-plan gravel surfaced enclosure lined with small clipped bushes, and four low cast-iron posts matching those of the cemetery fencing. During the late C20, the original enclosure was replaced by an octagonal platform laid in grey stone sets, enclosed by a low metal fence.

Details

First World War memorial with Second World War additions, erected 1921.

MATERIALS: different toned grey granites.

PLAN: Octagonal

The Barton-upon-Humber war memorial is situated on the northern side of Barrow Road, set centrally within the ‘New‘ main entrance to Barton-upon-Humber cemetery. The memorial comprises a classically inspired octagonal granite column, surmounted by a crucifix with a square base set on an octagonal cornice. The crucifix has a central roundel emblazoned on both the front and rear with the Christian monogram HIS and decorated with carved leaf and floral motifs. The column has a plain base raised on alternate ridged and rounded hoods. The pedestal is formed by a central rounded column supported by four narrow piers and is mounted on a plinth with a torus band, set on a stepped octagonal granite podium with quarry-faced risers. The inscribed panels listing the fallen are all of a darker blue-grey granite than the body of the structure, giving it greater emphasis and a distinctive appearance to the memorial.

The southern panel of the pedestal column has a cartouche in relief with incised and gilded lettering which reads - ‘IN THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF 165 GALLANT MEN/OF BARTON-ON-HUMBER,/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/FOR KING AND COUNTRY/ IN THE GREAT WAR./ 4TH AUGUST 1914,/ 11TH NOVEMBER 1918,/ AND 48 MEN AND WOMEN 1939-1945./ “THEN FROM THE DAWN IT/ SEEMED THERE CAME, BUT FAINT/ AS FROM BEYOND THE LIMIT/ OF THE WORLD,/ LIKE THE LAST ECHO BORN OF/ A GREAT CRY,/ SOUNDS AS IF SOME FAIR CITY/ WERE ONE VOICE AROUND A KING/ RETURNING FROM HIS WARS.”/ Tennyson’.

The names of the Fallen from the First World War are inscribed upon the eastern, northern, and western panels of the pedestal column, together with the dates of their death. The Fallen of the Navy and the Army are listed on the eastern panel, while those of the Army are recorded on the remaining two panels. The sides of the two piers to either side of the southern panel have additional granite tablets, each recording 24 names of the 48 men and women killed in the Second World War. The inclusion of three women’s names, Dorothy M Brooks, Edith P French, and Florence A Pike, is an un-usual feature. Three additional granite tablets recording a further 33 men that were killed are attached to the projecting piers.

Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the octagonal platform paved with grey stone sets, enclosed by a low metal railing fence that surrounds the monument is a modern addition, is not of special architectural or historic interest.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 24 January 2017.

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 24 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/51704
War Memorials Online, accessed 24 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/201251

Other
Clarke, R. The Civil Cemetery, Barton upon Humber: A Study in Landscape, History and Ecology Impact

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