Memorial Title

Church of St Andrew - Crucifix

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a war memorial crucifix at the Church of St Andrew, Swanwick, Derbyshire.

Images


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Locations

Last known location: Churchyard Church of St Andrew The Green (B6016) Swanwick Derbyshire	Nearest postcode: DE55 1AN NGR: SK 40432 53248 ±5m (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The memorial is on the eastern side of the path from The Green to the church.

Previous location: Roadside Junction of Derby Rd (B6179) and The Green (B6016) Swanwick Derbyshire	Nearest postcode: DE55 1AN NGR: SK 40412 53252 (From online digital mapping.) (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The memorial was at the southeast corner of the junction.

Type

Overall type: Crucifix.

Overall condition: Fair to poor. The inscription is legible.

Description:

A sandstone pillar surmounted by a small oaken canopied crucifix and mounted on a square sandstone pedestal, two-stepped base and a plinth. The tapered square pillar has chamfered arisses with decorative stops just above its base. The square pedestal has canted corners, hollowed at the head and with a bullnose at the foot. It has the dates of WW1 incised on the 6 o'clock face and metal plaques mounted on three of its faces. The two-stepped base is hexagonal in plan and the plinth is deeper, a seven-sided asymetrical polygon in plan, and has an incised inscription in upright capital block lettering on the front faces. The oblong metal plaques on the pedestal have incised inscriptions in upright capital block lettering coloured white.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Crucifix	Oak, metal	700	560	260	Fair
Pillar	Sandstone	1670	250	200	Fair
Pedestal	Sandstone	430	600	610	Good
Base	Sandstone	270	1600	1400	Fair
Plinth	Sandstone	500	2910	2340	Fair
Plaque (6 o'clock)	Metal	100	355	2	Good
Plaque (9 o'clock)	Metal	355	355	2	Poor
Plaque (3 o'clock)	Metal	150	355	2	Fair
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

6 o'clock face of pedestal:

1914
1918

Plaque on 6 o'clock face:

REMEMBER O LORD
THESE THY SERVANTS
WHO DIED FOR US AND
GRANT THEM THINE ETERNAL REST

Plaque on 9 o'clock face:

1914 - 1918
C. J. BACON R. H. BACON E. BEIGHTON
J. L. BOOTH J. BUXTON F. W. CHALLONER
A. A. ELLIOT L. R. ELLIOT O. ELLIOT
A. K. FRYER M.M. W. H. GOODALL G. A. GRANEY
T. GREEN M.M. A. HANBURY F. HANBURY
H. HILL L. HILL A. H. HOLMES O. A HOLT
W. JONES H. LEAM D. O'CALLAGHAN
C. H. RADFORD J. STEEPLES H. STOPPARD
T. W. TAYLOR F. TURNER G. J. WALLER
H. WALLER W. H. WALTERS A. WAGER

Plaque on 3 o'clock face:

1939 - 1945
F. COOPER W. FLINT P. LYNAM R. MATHEWS	S. SMITH F. M. TARLTON F. TUFT

9, 8 and 7 o'clock faces of plinth:

J. L. BOOTH.
D. O'CALLAGHAN.
A. K. FRYER M.M.

G. J. BACON. R. H. BACON. E. BEIGHT
A. A. ELLIOTT. L. R. ELLIOTT. O. EL
T. W. TAYLOR. F. TURNER. A. WAG

ON. + REMEMBER O LORD,
LIOTT. W. H. GOODALL. C. A.
ER. G. J. WALLER. H. WALLER.

6 o'clock face of plinth:

THESE THY SERVANTS WHO DIED FOR US AND GRANT THEM THINE
GRANEY. A. HANBURY. H. HILL. L. HILL. A. H. HOLMES O. A. HOLT. W.
W. H. WALTERS.

5 and 3 o'clock face of plinth:

ETERNAL REST. AMEN + J. BUXTON. T. W. CHALLONER.
JONES. H. LEAM. C. H. RADFORD. J. STEEPLES. H. STOPP[ARD.]

[Letters obscured]

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Second World War (1939-1945)	Totals
Action or event	Not stated	Not stated
Number died	31	7	38
Number served and returned	0	0	0
Total names	31	7	38

Note:
There are discrepancies in the number of WW1 names. Contemporary newspapers stated that there were 26 names on the memorial when it was unveiled and these are presumed to have been incised around the plinth. Later newspaper reports (see History below) stated that four names were added which would increase the total to 30, but there are now 31 names on the plinth. The plaque, later attached to the pedestal, contains only 29 names.

Administration

Custodian: Not known

Local authorities:
From WW1: Alfreton Parish Council; Alfreton Urban District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1974: Swanwick Parish Council; Amber Valley Borough Council; Derbyshire County Council.

History and Conservation

c1922: A local war memorial committee, composed mainly of ministers from various churches, procured the memorial and arranged for its installation at the back of the footway at the junction of The Green and Derby Road. Seats were built into the adjacent curved stone walls.

11th November 1922: The memorial was unveiled by Capt Henry Fitzherbert Wright BA, formerly of the Royal Artillery, and dedicated by Rev C G Everitt, vicar of the Church of St Andrew.

Unknown date: A post and chain fence was erected to separate the memorial from the footway.

October, 1936: The names of four former servicemen who had recently died were engraved on the memorial, leading to a well publicised controversy, the solution to which was not revealed to the public..

Unknown date (c1950?): A metal plaque was added to the stone pedestal to commemorate the fallen of WW2. A further plaque listed names of the WW1 fallen and a third plaque gave the dedication.

Late 1970s: The memorial was moved about 25m southeast of its original position. This was to facilitate maintenance of the churchyard and to improve access to the memorial during memorial services.

c1990: The crucifix was replaced.

11th March, 2011: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson and Alan Willmot. It was in fair to poor condition: the pillar had a slight chip at the head of the 6 o'clock face; the incised inscription on the base was slightly eroded and had small patches of dense moss growth in parts, making it difficult to read and the metal plaques had become discoloured and were also difficult to read in parts.

4th August, 2020: The memorial was resurveyed by Roy Branson and Alan Willmot. It was in fair to poor condition, much the same as in 2011.

References

Daily Independent; 3rd November, 1934; p7 col7; a report of a local controversy regarding the format of the Remembrance Day service.

Derbyshire Advertiser; 17th November, 1922; p12 col4; photographs of some of the components of the memorial.

Derbyshire Times; 13th November, 1936; p22 col4. 4th December, 1936: p21 col4. 11th December, 1936; p19 col6; items on the additional names controversey.

Ripley and Heanor News; 15th March, 1929; p3 col2: a report that the Womens Section of the British Legion would take over the care of the memorial.
Ibid; 19th October, 1934; p7 col4; report on an agreement on the format of the Remembrance Day service.

Sheffield Daily Telegraph; 13th November, 1922; p8 col6: a report of the unveiling ceremony.

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