Gate piers, gates, railings and steps, Ilkley Memorial Gardens, Ilkley, Bradford

Summary

Memorial garden gate piers, gates, railings and steps of 1922, by John James Joass. Sandstone and wrought ironwork.

Description

Memorial garden gate piers, gates, railings and steps of 1922, by John James Joass. Sandstone and wrought ironwork

PLAN: the gate piers, gates, railings and steps form part of a memorial garden located at the west end of The Grove, Ilkley's principal shopping street. The garden has an irregular hexagonal shape with the narrowest part at the east end and the second narrowest part at the west end bordering a stream. A First World War memorial (separately listed at Grade II) is located to the centre of the garden, at the end of a tree-lined processional path that runs east-west from a gated main entrance at the east end of the garden. Further secondary gated entrances lie on the north and south roadsides of the garden. A Second World War memorial lies on the same axis as the First World War memorial and is located towards the west end of the garden, flanked on each side by pavilion shelters (separately listed at Grade II).

DESCRIPTION: enclosing the memorial garden on the north, south and east sides is wrought-iron fencing incorporating panels with concave-shaped tops and decorative links. At the east end of the site is a pair of square sandstone gate piers with rounded caps surmounted by wrought-iron lamp standards, and decorative wrought-iron gates. Further wrought-iron gates in similar style exist to entrances on the north and south sides; that to the south side of the garden alongside Kings Road is accessed via a flight of stone steps with side walls surmounted by low wrought-iron railings in similar style to the gates.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 30 October 2017.

History

In 1919 Ilkley War Memorial Committee held an architectural competition and invited designs for the erection of a First World War memorial and the laying out of memorial gardens at the west end of The Grove, Ilkley's main street, on a parcel of land that had been bought by Joseph Cooper of Norwood House and donated to Ilkley District Council. The architect Walter Brierley of York was appointed as assessor and the designs were not to exceed £3500.

Seven designs were submitted and the selected winner was John James Joass of London, whose design of an urn-topped cenotaph accessed via three avenues and surrounded by flower beds and seating was described by Brierley as being 'dignified, evenly proportioned, and scholarly'. The design also included provision for a crescent of 'artistic trees' behind the cenotaph (in the location of the Second World War memorial), but it is not known if this feature was implemented.

The memorial was erected in 1922 and the gardens were laid out at the same time, including the installation of the gate piers, gates, railings and steps. The memorial was unveiled on 23 July 1922 by Colonel J H Hastings and Captain Thomas Harold Broadbent Maufe VC (who was later accidentally killed during the Second World War by mortar practice, and is recorded on the plaque inside the garden's Second World War memorial), and the dedication was led by Arthur W T Perowne, Bishop of Bradford.

In the early 1950s a Second World War memorial was erected in the gardens, in the form of a triumphal arch-style shrine and two pavilion shelters. The memorial took several years to construct as the Minister of Works, R R Stokes, prevented the memorial from being completed in 1950 as the war memorial committee had started works without the relevant permission. The committee wanted the shelters erected in time for the Remembrance Day service in 1950 and already had the support of the Ministry of Health, so they commenced work in the spring of 1950, believing that they could spend up to £500 at this initial stage. However, this was not the case and the Ministry of Works refused the granting of a licence (the Ministry had already exceeded their ceiling and overspent on a new embassy in Rio de Janeiro and the acquisition of a Constable painting). The local people were outraged and the MP took up the case, forcing Stokes to subsequently agree to reconsider the decision. However, in the end the pavilions were completed without a licence.

The Second World War memorial was unveiled on 26 April 1953 by Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Maxwell Balfour, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Northern Command. The dedication was led by Canon A H Wellington, Vicar of St Margaret's Church, Ilkley. The ceremony, which included a parade through the town led by ex-service men and women, was attended by local councillors, clergy, military representatives, emergency services, and other dignitaries, and a guard of honour was provided by the Army Apprentices' School, Harrogate.

The identity of the shrine's architect is unknown although it has been suggested that it was designed by Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe (formerly Muff), but this is unconfirmed. Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe (1882-1974) was born in Ilkley and was the younger son of Henry Muff, a linen draper and partner in the Bradford department store of Brown, Muff & Co, and his wife Maude Alice Smithies, the niece of Sir Titus Salt, founder of Saltaire. Maufe trained under the London architect William A Pite and studied at St John's College, Oxford before setting up in practice on his own. He went on to become a highly successful architect designing buildings, such as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford (Grade II*) and the Playhouse at Oxford (Grade II*, forms part of a group). From 1943-1969 Maufe was first principal architect UK and then chief architect and artistic adviser to the Imperial (later Commonwealth) War Graves Commission, where he designed, amongst many others, the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede, Surrey. The family changed their name to Maufe in 1909, and Maufe's cousin Thomas (detailed above) unveiled Joass' First World War memorial in Ilkley's memorial gardens in 1922.

John James Joass (1868-1952) first worked in his father's small architectural office before being articled to John Burnet in Glasgow where he also studies part-time at the Glasgow School of Art. Joass moved to London in 1893 where he worked first for Ernest George and then for John Belcher from 1897. Joass developed Belcher's already successful business even further over the next two decades and he became a partner in 1905. Most of Joass' well-known buildings are in London, such as the former Mappin & Webb store on Oxford Street (Grade II*), the Royal Insurance building on the corner of St James' Street and Piccadilly (Grade II*), and a 1930s extension to Belcher's Chartered Accountants' Hall in the City (Grade II*), and various buildings for the Zoological Society London.

Reasons for Listing

The gate piers, gates, railings and steps in Ilkley Memorial Gardens are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* they have strong cultural and historic significance within both a local and national context, and are an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this local community and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* they incorporate finely carved sandstone elements and elaborate wrought-ironwork;

* they were designed by the renowned architect John James Joass of London, who also designed the First World War memorial and laid out the memorial garden itself.

Group value:

* they have strong group value with the other structures in Ilkley Memorial Gardens, including the First World War memorial and Second World War memorial and its associated pavilions (all recommended for listing at Grade II), and with the garden itself, which is being separately recommended for registration at grade II.

External Links

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