Egglescliffe War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Egglescliffe War Memorial, which stands on Egglescliffe Bank, 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an elegant memorial cross;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of St John the Baptist.

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 the country. 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 at Egglescliffe as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. Following the Second World War the names of those men who had died in that conflict were added. The memorial underwent restoration in 1988 and 2005.

Details

The tall stone memorial stands on Egglescliffe Bank c50m to the NW of the Church of St John the Baptist (Grade I-listed), overlooking the River Tees. It takes the form of a Latin cross rising from a moulded collar at the top of a tapering, octagonal, shaft. The shaft stands on an elaborate plinth, rectangular on plan, with scrolled sides to N and S and a broad base. The plinth stands on a two-stepped base, half-round to the front. The whole is raised on a paved platform, railed and approached by a rake of four steps to the E side.

Towards the foot of the shaft the dates 1914/ 1919 are carved in low relief inside a small cartouche. The original list of commemorated names, incised into the front face of the plinth, are covered with a black stone plaque. On this the First and Second World War names are recorded under the dates 1914 – 1918 and 1939-1945. Underneath is a narrow frieze is incised: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR. The dates 1939 and 1945 are carved in low relief on the chamfered step of the plinth’s base, flanking the incised Second World War names. On the face below, a black stone plaque reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO/ FELL IN THE GREAT WARS.

The attached black stone plaques, the enclosure railings and pavement, and the rake of steps to the E side, are excluded from the listing.


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, 6 March 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 06/12/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7158
War Memorials Register, accessed 6 March 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/9792
War Memorials Online, accessed 6 March 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/218515

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.

Print the official list entry