Memorial Title

Allentown (Allenton)

(See History and Comments sections below for an explanation of the name and status of this memorial.)

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a WW1 and WW2 war memorial sculpture at Allenton, Derby.

Images



Click on a thumbnail to see a larger image. Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location: Public area Sinfin Ave Allenton Derby	Nearest postcode: DE24 9DX NGR: SK 37157 31960 (From online digital mapping.) (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The memorial is in a paved area in the open space bounded by Sinfin Ave, Chellaston Rd (A514) and Merrill Way.

Previous location: Roadside Chellaston Rd (A514) Allenton Derby	Nearest postcode: DE24 9BL NGR: SK 37092 32411 (From online digital mapping.) (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The memorial was on a small plot of land east of the highway and about half way between Allen St and Greatorex Ave.

Previous location: Roadside Chellaston Rd (A514) Allenton Derby	Nearest postcode: DE24 9AD NGR: SK 37032 32507 (From online digital mapping.) (Map opens in new window.)	Location details: The memorial was on a small plot of land west of the highway and about half way between Cheshire St and Whittington St. The area is now known as the Lord and Whitting Estate.

Type

Overall type: Sculpture.

Overall condition: Fair. The inscription is legible and the memorial is cared for.

Description:

A Hopton Wood limestone sculpture of a WW1 infantryman on a square stone pedestal, plinth and base. The memorial stands at the south-east side of a paved area which is partly enclosed by a low brick wall.
The infantryman is in WW1 service dress of jacket, belt, trousers, boots, puttees and peaked cap, standing at ease with a rifle in his right hand. He is supported by a rock at the rear and the whole has a square base. The sculpture stands on a moulded capstone, bevelled above and hollowed below, with undercut dentiles. This surmounts the tall pedestal which is divided by an astragal with the smaller, hollowed upper sections containing inscriptions set between foliated relief carvings. The main, lower, sections of the pedestal have raised inscription panels with triangular arch heads and recessed sides. The pedestal stands on a moulded plinth and a single-stepped base with bevelled top and the sculptors' details inlaid in the left corner of the 6 o'clock face.
The inscriptions are inlaid in upright capital block lettering. That on the 6 o'clock face includes the names of those who fell in WW1 while the 9 and 3 o'clock faces have the names of those who returned from WW1, those on the 3 o'clock face extending onto the plinth. The 12 o'clock face bears a dedication to those who died in WW2 and subsequent conflicts, together with a record of the removal and rededication of the memorial.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Sculpture	Limestone	c1900	c600	c600	Fair
Capstone	Limestone	c200	c750	c750	Fair
Pedestal	Limestone	c850	c600	c600	Fair
Plinth	Limestone	c350	c750	c750	Fair
Base	Limestone	c200	c1000	c1000	Fair
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

6 o'clock face:

12 o'clock face:

IN IMPERISHABLE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF ALLENTOWN WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919	THIS MEMORIAL ALSO COMMEMORATES THE SACRIFICE OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO DIED IN THE 1939-45 WAR AND SUBSEQUENT CONFLICTS
J. FARRELL.
S. TOMLINSON
C. E. CHAPMAN.
F. GREEN.
W. MORRIS.
W. WHITEHOUSE.
J. FORD.
W. H. JONES.
A. W. LOWNDES.
J. W. WHITEHEAD.
W. CHAPMAN.
C. G. HOPKINS.
T. [R]. HOPKINS.
W. HOLMES.
H. TOMLINSON.
H. FORD.
S. SHERWIN.
[P. G. MORRISH.]
W. R. CUDWORTH.
T. A. DOLMAN.
S. MOGG.
R. A. PIGGIN.
T. WILLIAMSON.
D. H. DAKIN.
W. WRIGHT.
E. PEBERDY.
F. HUNT.
	THIS MEMORIAL WAS RE-SITED AND REDEDICATED BY THE VICAR OF ST. EDMUNDS’ CHURCH ALLENTON/ ON 29TH OCTOBER 1989.

9 o'clock face:

3 o'clock face:

IN IMPERISHABLE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF ALLENTOWN WHO ENLISTED IN THE GREAT WAR 1914	IN IMPERISHABLE MEMORY OF THE MEN OF ALLENTOWN WHO ENLISTED IN THE GREAT WAR 1915
W. BEARDSALL.	H. HILLERLY.
D. SHERWIN.	J. HOLMES.
G. ROSE.	T. LING.
N. ROSE.	H. COLLINS.
W. E. COPE.	W. MAIDENS.
A. A. LOWNDES.	C. F. MURDEN.
J. S. BEACH.	P. WALTON.
H. HUBBARD.	J. E. HOPKINS.
T. FEARN.	F. CAUDWELL.
J. J. SHARPE.	A. AULT.
J. PEACH.	1916
A. BLOOMER.	P. THOMPSON.
F. PETTIT.	J. J. HOPKINSON.
J. BOWN.	A. TOMLINSON.
E. HILDITCH.	G. E. WINSPEAR.
T. BLOOMER.	S. WHITEHEAD.
J. W. WILLIAMSON.	J. CLEAVER.
W. J. WALKER.	W. THOMPSON.
T. PEBERDY.	E. ANDREW.
H. LING.	A. WILCOX.
F. G. PITT.	J. BISHOP.
W. BLACKSHAW.	S. T. THORNHILL.
G. H. TWIGG.	H. TOMLINSON.
T. A. PIGGIN.	F. THEOBALD.
J. PERCY.	A. THOMPSON.
H. KING.	1917
S. HOWITT.	J. T. WINSPEAR.
J. WILLIAMSON.	A. LING.
J. T. DAKIN.	G. P. LOWNDES.
I. WHITEHOUSE.	H. J. HOPKINSON.
W. R. TENNANT.	J. CHAPMAN.
H. BURROWS.	P. BOWN.
J. A. WALTON.	E. BLOOMER.
W. A. WALTON.	F. PEACH.
W. L. HO[D]KINS.	J. H. CASTERTON.
E. SANDERS.	R. HARRISON.
W. H. CHADWICK.	S. FORD.
1915	G. H. SKIPWORTH.
E. E. BULL	1918
F. E. ANDREW.	L. D. HAMBLIN.
H. BEARDSALL.	H. PEBERDY.
P. THEOBALL.	H. M. KING.
J. POWELL.	A. TUNNICLIFF.
C. BLOOMER.	T. CUDWORTH.
W. GRIFFITHS	B. DOLMAN.
W. BEMBRIDGE.	H. LLOYD.
J. W. TOMLINSON.	J. MYATT.
C. TROWELL.	W. BUTTERWORTH.
W. TROWELL.

	3 o'clock face of plinth:
	E. TOMLINSON
	H. HILL

6 o'clock face of base:
GADSBY & CO. SCULPTORS DERBY

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Second World War (1939-1945) and subsequent conflicts	Totals
Action or event	Not stated	Not stated
Number died	27	0	27
Number served and returned	122	0	122
Total names	149	0	149

Administration

Custodian: Derby City Council

Local authorities:
From WW1: Alvaston and Boulton Urban District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1934: Alvaston and Boulton Parish Council, Shardlow Rural District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1959: Alvaston and Boulton Parish Council, South East Derbyshire Rural District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1974: Derby District (later Borough and from 1977 City) Council; Derbyshire County Council.
From 1997: Derby City Council.

History and Conservation

1878: Local Builder Isaac Allen built 110 houses and associated properties in a rural location at the corner of Upper Moor Rd and Chellaston Rd, about 1.5km west of the village of Boulton. It included Harrington St, Poole St and Allen St and became known as Allentown, although by 1881 it was already marked as Allenton on the Ordnance Survey Map.

1914-18: From a population of about 500 Allentown sent 119 men to the Great War.

1918-19: The residents of this small locality formed a committee to procure their memorial. The land was donated by Miss Edith Smith of Borrowash, the design was selected and funds were raised.

12th August, 1919: The memorial was being made by Gadsby & Co, sculptors of Nottingham Rd, Derby. Most of the £220 cost had been raised by local events and contributions and the palisade and groundworks were being completed by the Alvaston and Boulton UDC. It should be noted that the area must have still been known locally as Allentown because it is so spelt on all four faces of the pedestal.

18th October, 1919: The memorial was unveiled by Mrs J W Chapman of Derby and dedicated by Rev William Webb, vicar of Alvaston.

5th June, 1924: The council's surveyor was authorised to repair the memorial.

3rd January, 1925: The repairs had not been carried out.

4th November, 1925: The urban council awarded a contract to Sherwin & Co for the provision of iron pillars for the memorial.

24th October, 1928: The memorial was taken down by contractors working for Derby Borough Council on a road widening scheme and the components were placed in the contractor's yard. This precipitated a long-running dispute between the Urban District Council and the Borough Council regarding the timing of the work (a few days before the Remembrance Day service) and the subsequent cost of re-erecting the memorial on its new site on the eastern side of the road.

3rd September, 1929: After much negotiation it was reported that the Borough Council would pay for the removal of the memorial, its re-erection and the associated groundworks.

11th October, 1929: In a newspaper report, Ald William Raynes, of Derby Borough Council, described the memorial as "a ridiculous thing and a caricature".

5th November, 1929: It was stated that the memorial would be ready for the Rembrance Day service.

27th August, 1932: It was reported that about 300mm had been broken off the tip of the soldier's rifle by boys throwing stones at it.

4th October, 1932: The rifle was reported to have been repaired.

Unknown date: The WW2 inscription was added. (It has been suggested that this was not done until 1989 when the memorial was again moved.)

Unknown date: Seats and a flagpole were added

15th October, 1988: Seats adjacent to the memorial were vandalised.

December, 1988: Allenton Royal British Legion suggested that the memorial be moved to the nearby Derby War Memorial Village where it might be less vulnerable to vandalism and where it would be quieter for the Remembrance Day service. The branch proposed to contribute £4000 towards the removal costs and it was hoped that local businesses would donate a further £4000. It was also expected that Derby City Council would allocate £1000 to clean and restore the sculpture.

1989: The memorial was moved again, this time away from the area to which it refers. The site is on the north side of Sinfin Avenue, within the grounds of the Derby War Memorial Village.

30th January, 2008: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson. It was in fair condition and cared for but the tip of the rifle was missing.

2014: War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £810 for repair and conservation work. The sculpture had been damaged and the end section of the rifle was missing The surface of the memorial also had a covering of biological growth. The memorial was steam cleaned before the repairs were made and a new section was fixed to the rifle.

19th January, 2016: The memorial was listed Grade II, Heritage List for England number 1431002

24th August, 2019: The memorial was revisited by Roy Branson. It was in fair condition and cared for.

References

Provison
Derby Telegraph: 12th August, 1919; p4 col2. 21st October, 1919; p2 col5.
Maintenance
Derby Telegraph: 5th June, 1924; p4 col4. 3rd January, 1925, p3 col3. 4th November, 1925; p6 col4.
First removal
Derby Telegraph: 6th November, 1928; p4 col4. 8th November, 1928, p7 col7. 12th November, 1928; p3 col2. 13th November, 1928; p4 col4. 5th March, 1929; p5 col3. 7th May, 1929; p7 col4. 4th June, 1929; p10 col5. 2nd July, 1929; p11 col4. 30th July, 1929; p5 col2. 3rd September, 1929; p7 col4. 11th October, 1929; p6 col3. 17th October, 1929; p5 (photograph). 5th November, 1929; p7 col3.
Later Maintenance
Derby Telegraph: 27th August, 1932; p5 col3. 4th October, 1932; p6 col5. 1st March, 1934; p5 col3.
Second removal
Derby Telegraph: 18th October, 1988; p13 col2. 31st October, 1988; p9 col2.

Comments

There are at least seven other memorials adjacent to this sculpture and the arrangement places this one as the focus. The low wall behind it bears the name of the Derby War Memorial Village and the other memorials are mainly associated with that. However, it is important to remember that this sculpture memorialises the men from that small block of housing between Upper Boundary Road and Allen Street. Their memorial must not be allowed to be subsumed by the War memorial Village which represents the WW2 casualties of the whole Borough of Derby as it was in the 1940s.

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