North Eastern Railway War Memorial
North Eastern Railway War Memorial | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
For employees of the North Eastern Railway killed in the First World War | |
Unveiled | 1924 |
Location | 53°57′31″N 1°05′23″W / 53.958658°N 1.089814°W Station Approach, York, England |
Designed by | Sir Edwin Lutyens |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
Official name | North Eastern Railway Company War Memorial |
Designated | 10 September 1970 |
Reference no. | 1256553 |
The North Eastern Railway War Memorial is a
The NER memorial was unveiled on 14 June 1924 by Field Marshal Lord Plumer. It consists of a 54-foot (16-metre) high obelisk which rises from the rear portion of a three-sided screen wall. The wall forms a recess in which stands Lutyens' characteristic Stone of Remembrance. The wall itself is decorated with several carved swags and wreaths, including a wreath surrounding the NER's coat of arms at the base of the obelisk. The memorial is a grade II* listed building, and is part of a "national collection" of Lutyens' war memorials.
Background
The
After the war, thousands of memorials were built across Britain. Among the most prominent designers of memorials was architect
The war memorial is one of several buildings and structures in the centre of York related to the NER, including the company's headquarters and
Inception
At a meeting in April 1919, the NER's board discussed the idea of a war memorial, and decided that it should be of "an ornamental, rather than of a utilitarian character".[6] The board initially planned to seek donations for the project from it workforce, but changed its mind after the general manager reported that the idea met with widespread disapproval among employees. It then formed a subcommittee to consider possible designs and propose a suitable budget. At the company's annual general meeting in February 1920, a resolution was passed allocating a budget of £20,000 for the designing and building of a memorial.[3][6] The board commissioned Lutyens, which was confirmed in October 1921, for a fee of £700 plus travel and out-of-pocket expenses. The NER's deputy general manager explained that Lutyens had been chosen because he was "the fashionable architect and therefore could do no wrong".[7]
The project became embroiled in a controversy surrounding its size and location, which grew to envelop the proposed
The issue was further complicated by the proximity of both proposed schemes to York's ancient
The remaining issues were largely resolved after the city relented to public pressure and opted to site its memorial on a plot of land off Leeman Road, just outside the city walls, and for a reduced scheme in the form of a cross due to a shortage of funds. Coincidentally, the land was owned by the railway company and the NER board donated it to the city in a mark of gratitude for the good relations between the company and the city; the NER had by that time been amalgamated into the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) as a result of the Railways Act 1921.[3][9]
Design
Built from Portland stone, the memorial is sited against the ramparts of the city walls. It consists of a single, 30-foot (9-metre) obelisk rising from a three-tiered pedestal set into the rear portion of a three-sided screen wall. The wall creates a recess, sheltering a Stone of Remembrance. The two flanking sides terminate with urn-shaped finials; the ends of each wall are decorated with a laurel wreath in relief carving; the inside of the walls is further decorated with laurel swags below the urns. The rear wall bears further relief swags to either side of the obelisk; the North Eastern Railway Company's coat of arms is engraved on the pedestal of the obelisk, just above the level of the screen wall, which is surrounded by another laurel wreath. The obelisk rises above the screen wall to a total height of 54 feet (16 metres).[3][12][13][14] The Stone of Remembrance is a monolith in the shape of an altar, 12 feet (3.7 metres) long and curved so slightly as to barely be visible to the naked eye; it is deliberately devoid of any decoration besides the inscription "THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE".[15][16]
The dedication is inscribed in the centre of the rear part of the screen wall: "IN REMEMBRANCE OF THOSE MEN OF THE NORTH EASTERN RAILWAY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY THE COMPANY PLACES THIS MONUMENT"; the dates of the First World War are inscribed to either side. The 2,236 names were inscribed on panels affixed to the wall. Behind the Stone of Remembrance are 15 slates set into the floor of the memorial in 1984, bearing the names of the LNER's 551 dead from the
History
The North Eastern Railway War Memorial was finally constructed once the ancient Monuments Board approved Lutyens' modified design; it was unveiled by Field Marshal
The inscriptions, particularly the names of those killed, suffered from exposure to the elements. Restoration work, including re-carving, was carried out in the 1980s, funded by donations from the British Railways Engineers Ex-Servicemen's Association match-funded by British Rail. Erosion continued in the years following and in lieu of re-carving them and causing further damage to the memorial, the names were recorded in a book which is held by the National Railway Museum.[3][17]
The memorial was designated a grade II* listed building (a status which offers statutory protection from demolition or modification, defined as "particularly important buildings of more than special interest" and applied to about 5.5% of listed buildings) on 10 September 1970.[3][22] In November 2015, as part of commemorations for the centenary of the First World War, Lutyens' war memorials were recognised as a national collection and all 44 of his free-standing memorials in England were listed or had their listing status reviewed and their National Heritage List for England entries updated and expanded. As part of this process, the York City memorial was upgraded to grade II* to match the NER's memorial.[23]
See also
- Media related to North Eastern Railway War Memorial, York at Wikimedia Commons
- Great Eastern Railway War Memorial, at London Liverpool Street station
- Great Western Railway War Memorial, at London Paddington station
- London and North Western Railway War Memorial, outside London Euston station
- Midland Railway War Memorial, in Derby (also by Lutyens)
- Grade II* listed buildings in the City of York
- Grade II* listed war memorials in England
References
Bibliography
- Barnes, Richard (2004). The Obelisk: A Monumental Feature in Britain. Kirstead, Norfolk: Frontier Publishing. ISBN 9781872914282.
- Biddle, Gordon (2011). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (Second ed.). ISBN 9780711034914.
- Boorman, Derek (1988). At the Going Down of the Sun: British First World War Memorials. York: Sessions of York. ISBN 9781850720416.
- ISBN 9780850523638.
- Burnham, Karyn (2014). York in the Great War. Barnsley: ISBN 9781783376094.
- Corke, Jim (2005). War Memorials in Britain. Oxford: ISBN 9780747806264.
- Lambert, Anthony (2018). Britain's Railways in Wartime: The Nation's Lifeline. Swindon: ISBN 9781848024823.
- Langham, Rob (2013). The North Eastern Railway in the First World War. Oxford: Fonthill Media. ISBN 9781781554555.
- ISBN 9780300095937.
- ISBN 9780712668224.
- Skelton, Tim; Gliddon, Gerald (2008). Lutyens and the Great War. London: ISBN 9780711228788.
Citations
- ^ a b Langham, pp. 119–121.
- ^ Biddle, p. 467.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Historic England. "North Eastern Railway Company War Memorial (1256553)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Skelton, p. 139.
- ^ Burnham, pp. 100–102.
- ^ a b Lambert, pp. 181–182.
- ^ Skelton, p. 59.
- ^ a b c Skelton, p. 60.
- ^ a b Historic England. "York City War Memorial in the War Memorial Garden (1257512)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
- ^ Skelton, pp. 59–60.
- ^ a b Skelton, p. 61.
- ^ Borg, p. 88.
- ^ Pevsner, p. 203.
- ^ Barnes, pp. 121–122.
- ^ Ridley, p. 278.
- ^ Skelton, p. 24.
- ^ a b Boorman, pp. 29–30.
- ^ Corke, p. 60.
- ^ Biddle, pp. 469–470.
- ^ North Eastern Railway Memorial, Imperial War Museums
- ^ a b Langham, p. 121.
- ^ "The Listing and Grading of War Memorials". Historic England. July 2015. p. 2. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "National Collection of Lutyens' War Memorials Listed". Historic England. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.