Memorial Title

St Edmund's Church - Lych Gate

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a WW1 and WW2 war memorial cross in St Edmund's Churchyard, Allestree, Derby.

Images

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Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location:
St Edmund's Churchyard
St Edmund's Close
Allestree
Derby

Nearest postcode:
DE22 2DZ

NGR:
SK 34763 39716
(From online digital mapping.)
(Map opens in new window.)

Location details:
The church is on the east side of the road in the centre of the village. The lych gate is by the roadside.

Type

Overall type: Gate.

Overall condition: Fair. The memorial is cared for.

Description:

A timber-framed lych gate with a pair of wooden gates and a shingle roof with a metal cross at its apex, all on a stone foundation. There is no accompanying inscription.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Gate	Oak, stone	c4000	c3300	c2600	Fair
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

[None]

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Totals
Action	Unspecified
Number died	0	0
Number served and returned	0	0
Total names	0	0

Administration

Custodian: Presumed to be the parochial church council.

Local authorities:
From WW1: Allestree Parish Council; Belper Rural District Council; Derbyshire County Council
From 1968: Derby County Borough Council (Derby Corporation) (Unparished)
From 1974 to 1997: Derby District (later Borough and from 1977 City) Council and Derbyshire County Council.
From 1997: The unitary authority has been Derby City Council.

History

Church records are said to record that the gate was erected about 1920 as a memorial to the fallen of WW1, but see Comments below.

Spring 1937: The lych gate was refurbished.

11 September 1991: The memorial lies within the Allestree Conservation Area designated on that date.

24th November, 2011: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson. It was in fair condition and cared for.

References

Derby Telegraph;22nd February, 1937; p8: An article on the refurbishment of Allestree Church then taking place.

Comments

Some doubt must be cast on the validy of the claim that the memorial was erected about 1920. Local photographs dated 1867 and 1909 show a gate identical in style to the present one, and a 1937 press report refers to the old lych gate having last been repaired in 1865. This is not to say that the structure was not dedicated as a memorial about 1920, even though there is no inscription recording the fact.

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