Listing
Search the List

What is Listing?

Listing Guidance

Apply for Listing

Missing Pieces Project

Blue Plaque Scheme
Listing

Find out about listed buildings and other protected sites, and search the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).

Find out about listing

Terracotta tiles on the roof of Saintoft Lodge, Newton-on-Rawcliffe, Ryedale, North Yorkshire. Grade II listed © Historic England Archive DP371715
Advice
Climate Change

Heritage at Risk

Your Home

Technical Guidance

Planning

Caring for Heritage

Constructive Conservation
Advice

See our extensive range of expert advice to help you care for and protect historic places.

Get our advice

A contractor cutting bricks for the wall of the partially-restored wild and natural walled garden at Warley Place, Brentwood. Explore our technical advice section © Historic England Archive DP313199
Research
Our Research Strategy and Agenda

Research Governance

Latest Research

Research Methods

Current Research

Research Results

Support & Collaboration

Inclusive Heritage

Heritage Counts
Research

Discover and use our high-quality applied research to support the protection and management of the historic environment.

Discover our research

Archaeologist Dr David Neal discussing his illustration of the mosaic being excavated at Rutland Roman Villa with members of the University of Leicester Archaeological Services team View image DP264265 © Historic England
Images & Books
Find Photos

Search All Publications

Buy Books

The Historic England Archive
Images & Books

Historic England holds an extensive range of publications and historic collections in its public archive covering the historic environment.

Browse our collections

Children play with a doll and a pram on the cobbled Church Path in Queen Camel, Somerset, in April 1953. At the far end of the path is the tower of the Church of St Barnabas, which dates to the 14th century. Photographer: John Gay Image reference: AA091596 © Historic England Archive
Services & Skills
Education

Grants

Our Planning Services

Training & Skills

Archive Services

Heritage Action Zones

Levelling Up Places Service
Services & Skills

Find out about services offered by Historic England for funding, planning, education and research, as well as training and skill development.

Learn about our services

Heritage Apprentices in a training session on the Researching The Historic Environment module and training in Architectural Photography. Find out more about Heritage Apprenticeships © Historic England Archive DP347660
What's New
News

In Your Area

Historic England Blog

Latest Research

Heritage Online Debate

Statements

Stay up to Date
What's New

Read about our current news, projects and campaigns nationally and in your area.

Catch up with what's new

Two horsemen reading The Sportsman, 30 Oct 1902, Farnborough, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. Part of the Alfred Newton and Sons collection. Source Historic England Archive. BB98/02592
About Us
What We Do

Who We Are

How We Are Funded

Contact Us

Careers

Volunteer with Historic England
About Us

Historic England is the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England's spectacular historic environment.

Find out more

Mountbatten House (formerly Gateway House), Basing View, Basingstoke, the former headquarters for the paper merchants Wiggins Teape by Arup Associates. Listed at Grade II. © Historic England
Sign in
Manage my account

Sign out

War memorial to Private Fairless, Limestone Brae burial ground

Limestone Brae burial ground, Carrshield, West Allen, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8AL

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1441606
Date first listed:: 14-Feb-2017
List Entry Name:: War memorial to Private Fairless, Limestone Brae burial ground
Statutory Address:: Limestone Brae burial ground, Carrshield, West Allen, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8AL

User submitted image — Uploaded by Roger Morris This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Also of interest

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1441606
Date first listed:: 14-Feb-2017
List Entry Name:: War memorial to Private Fairless, Limestone Brae burial ground
Statutory Address 1:: Limestone Brae burial ground, Carrshield, West Allen, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8AL

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: Limestone Brae burial ground, Carrshield, West Allen, Hexham, Northumberland, NE47 8AL

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: West Allen
National Grid Reference:: NY7933349962

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1920.

Reasons for Designation

The war memorial to Private Fairless in Limestone Brae burial ground, West Allen, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War; * Architectural interest: a simple yet poignant memorial cross.

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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised in the Limestone Brae burial ground, West Allendale, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by Private Joseph Fairless of West Allen who lost his life in the First World War.

The memorial, made by Creswell of Hexham, was unveiled on 9 October 1920 by Colonel LC Lockhart. The dedication service was conducted by Reverend T Nevison in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel c300m to the south-east of the cemetery. The memorial was erected by the parishioners of West Allen in memory of Private JW Fairless of the 12th/13th Northumberland Fusiliers, son of Mr and Mrs Fairless of Nook Farm. Fairless died aged 24 on 15 December 1917 and is buried at Tincourt New British Cemetery, France.

Details

The memorial stands in the burial ground to the south-west side of the road through West Allendale, c300m to the north-west of the former Methodist Church (Grade II-listed). It takes the form of a small stone floriated cross that stands on a three-stage base. The monogram HIS is carved in low relief at the centre of the cross head.

To the foot of the cross shaft the dedication begins OUR/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD, continues on the front face of the upper stage of the base ERECTED BY THE INHABITANTS/ OF WEST ALLEN/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ PTE. J.W. FAIRLESS 12/13 N.F. and ends on the middle stage WHO FELL IN ACTION IN FRANCE/ DURING THE GREAT EUROPEAN WAR/ 1914-1918. The inscription GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT/ A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS is recorded on the bottom stage. The texts are in applied metal letters.

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, 23 November 2017.

Sources

Websites
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, casualty database, accessed 17/11/2016 from http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/255480/FAIRLESS,%20JOSEPH%20WILLIAM
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 17/11/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9260
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253751
War Memorials Register, accessed 22 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/67912

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.