Grenoside War Memorial, Ecclesfield, Sheffield

Summary

A First World War memorial, 1922, with additions for the Second World War.

Description

First World War memorial, 1922, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: Cornish granite, Grenoside stone base, lead lettering.

DESCRIPTION: Grenoside War Memorial is located in a small memorial garden, at the junction of Penistone Road and Norfolk Hill. It consists of a rough-hewn granite wheel-head cross on a tapering plinth, raised on a three-stepped base of Grenoside stone. It is set on a tarmacadam platform edged with plain kerb stones, that extends to the enclosure gate. The north-east face of the plinth is recessed and bears an inscription in lead lettering, which reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD,/ AND IN GRATEFUL AND LOVING/ REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN OF/ GRENOSIDE WHO FELL IN THE/ GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918./ "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS"/ (12 names). A further 27 names of the fallen are recorded on the recessed faces of the north-west and south-east sides of the plinth. A canted granite tablet with a matching recessed panel and lead lettering, is mounted on the bottom step of the base, and let into the bottom and top steps, it reads: ALSO/ IN WORLD WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ (15 names).

The oval-plan memorial garden is enclosed to the rear by an un-coursed random rubble wall, and to the front by a looped wrought-iron bar fence on a two-stepped stone plinth; a central, gated entrance is reached by stone steps.

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, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Grenoside as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 39 members of the local community, who lost their lives in the First World War.

A committee was established in 1922, under the chairmanship of Mr R H England, to organise the erection of a war memorial dedicated to the fallen of Grenoside. Funds were raised by public subscription, and at a meeting of the subscribers held at the Church School in May 1922 the design of a granite wheel-cross by Messrs Frank Watts Ltd of London was decided upon. At that stage, £169 of the estimated £300 needed to build the memorial had been raised. By 20 July the total had reached £200 and a fete was held in the grounds of Greno House, adding a further £47 8s 3d to the Memorial Fund. The land for the memorial was given by Mr G N Longbotham of Greno House. The monument was erected late in November and it was unveiled on 2 December 1922, by Colonel W Mackenzie Smith and dedicated by the Bishop of Sheffield. The crowd that attended the ceremony was in excess of 2,000 people, including a large muster of ex-servicemen. In the weeks following the unveiling, further works were undertaken to plant shrubs and install a fence around the memorial. Following the Second World War the names of 15 fallen from that conflict were added to the memorial. In 2012 the memorial won a discretionary Rose Award from Yorkshire Water's Yorkshire in Bloom Competition.

Reasons for Listing

Grenoside War Memorial, erected 1922, 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.

Architectural interest:

* a simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a rough hewn Cornish granite wheel-head cross designed by Messrs Frank Watts Ltd of London.

External Links

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