Memorial
Title
Title
Danesmoor
Images
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Several more photographs are held on file. |
Locations
Roadside
Corner of Pilsley Rd
and Guildford La
Danesmoor,
Clay Cross
Derbyshire
S45 9BU
NGR:
SK 40260 63201 ±5m
Adjacent to the St Barnabas's Centre (formerly St Barnabas's Church).
Type
A white marble sculpture of a uniformed soldier on a tall square white marble pedestal and sandstone base.
The soldier is standing in front of a tree stump and his left foot is resting on a spent shell case. He is wearing khaki service dress with a peaked cap, ammunition pouches and infantry puttees. He is holding a rifle, originally bearing a bayonet, in his right hand with the stock resting on the ground.
The monolithic pedestal has a moulded cap forming a base for the figure and slightly battered sides. The 6 o'clock face originally bore two projecting unfurled scrolls bearing the inlaid inscription and names but the lettering was subsequently removed. The upper scroll later bore a bronze plaque bearing the inscription. The lower scroll was removed and a further bronze plaque bearing the names was attached directly onto the face. The pedestal surmounts a square plinth with moulded top with a later plaque on the 6 o'clock face bearing additional names. The whole surmounts a plain two-stepped sandstone ashlar base with the maker's name incised at the corner, and lies within a small paved and walled compound.
The inscription is in raised upright capital roman lettering and the names are in raised upright capital block lettering.
| Component | Material | Height | Width | Depth | Condition |
| Figure | White marble | c1500 | c820 | c820 | Good |
| Plinth | White marble | 350 | 820 | 820 | Good |
| Base | Sandstone | 480 | 2150 | 2150 | Good |
| Plaque | Bronze | 320 | 390 | 15 | Good |
| Plaque | Bronze | 705 | 580 | 15 | Good |
| Plaque | Bronze | 140 | 560 | 15 | Good |
| Bayonet | Unknown | - | - | - | Missing |
| Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise. | |||||
Inscription
| Original inscription on pedestal: | TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD 1914 - 1918 (Names) |
Upper replacement plaque: |
TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD 1914 - 1918 1939 - 1945 |
Central replacement plaque: |
1914 - 1918 WAR (Names) 1939 - 1945 WAR (Names) |
Lower replacement plaque: |
1914 - 1918 WAR (Names) |
Corner of lower step: |
PLATTS STAINSBY |
| Conflict | First World War (1914-1919) | Second World War (1939-1945) |
| Number died | 24 | 2 |
| Number served and returned | 0 | 0 |
| Total names | 24 | 2 |
Administration
Local Authorities:
After WW1: Clay Cross Parish Council; Clay Lane (later Clay Cross) Urban District Council; Derbyshire County Council
From 1997: Clay Cross Parish Council; North East Derbyshire District Council; Derbyshire County Council.
History
11th August, 1922: The memorial was unveiled.
Mid 1920s: A photograph appears to show a bayonet fixed to the rifle.
1994: The figure was reported to have begun to corrode quite badly. The rifle was said to have been almost obliterated, detail badly blurred, hat brim and nose missing.
c2005: Believed to have been cleaned and renovated.
28 January 2014: Surveyed by Roy Branson. The figure was clean and in good condition despite a century of weathering. The brim of the cap was missing, the face, fingers and rifle were weathered and the bayonet was missing. The tip of the rifle had been repaired at some stage. All of the remaining components were in good clean condition although there were two fine cracks in the plinth.
References
Nottingham Evening Post; 13th August, 1923; p5:. A report of the first anniversary of the unveiling.
The Picture the Past web page has a photograph of the memorial in the early 1920s.
Comments