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Latitude: 54.5055 / 54°30'19"N
Longitude: -1.4626 / 1°27'45"W
OS Eastings: 434895
OS Northings: 512380
OS Grid: NZ348123
Mapcode National: GBR LJ7B.4N
Mapcode Global: WHD78.H0RT
Plus Code: 9C6WGG4P+6X
Entry Name: Middleton One Row St Laurence's War Memorial
Listing Date: 7 December 2016
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1440044
ID on this website: 101440044
Location: Over Dinsdale, Darlington, County Durham, DL2
County: Darlington
Civil Parish: Middleton St George
Built-Up Area: Middleton St George
Traditional County: Durham
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): County Durham
Church of England Parish: Middleton St George
Church of England Diocese: Durham
Tagged with: War memorial
First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War and Iraq War additions.
First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War and Iraq War additions.
MATERIALS: pink/grey conglomerate
The memorial is situated at the entrance to the former churchyard of the Church of St Lawrence. It takes the form of a free standing, roughly-hewn Celtic cross on a short, tapering shaft set upon a two-tiered pedestal, reached by two stone steps. A wreath and a sword (eroded) are carved in half relief over the crosspiece of the cross. The dedications and names are in applied lead lettering. The dedication to the fallen of the First World war is inscribed on the face of the shaft: SACRED/ TO/ THE MEMORY/ OF OUR MEN/ WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES/ IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919. The names are in two columns separated by a vertical line below the dedication on the front face of the upper pedestal. The dedication to the fallen of the Second World War is on the left side of the upper pedestal and reads: TO/ THE/ GLORIOUS/ DEAD/ 1939-1946, (NAMES). The name of a single Royal Military Policeman who fell in Iraq in 2003 has been added to the riser of the lower pedestal.
This List entry has been amended to add the sources for War Memorials Online and North East War Memorials Project. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 12 September 2018.
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 at Middleton One Row as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Middleton One Row St Laurence's War Memorial was erected in 1922 and unveiled and dedicated on 8 April by the Lord Bishop of Durham, Dr Hensley Henson. In 1947 a memorial garden was laid out around the war memorial. The memorial was restored in the late C20 and re-dedicated in 1997.
Middleton One Row War Memorial, which stands within the former churchyard of St Lawrence's Church, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20 and the early C21;
* Design: a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a Celtic Cross in a pink/grey conglomerate with relief carving;
* Group value: it benefits from a spatial group value with the adjacent Church of St Lawrence.
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
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