Harthill War Memorial

Summary

A war memorial commemorating the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, constructed in 1920 to designs by John Douglas Webster with sculpture by Frank Tory and Sons.

Reasons for Designation

Harthill War Memorial, enclosure, plaque and hoodmould, erected in 1920 to designs by John Douglas Webster, with a Second World War plaque added later, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as an architect-designed memorial in high-quality Portland stone and incorporating a floriated cross and other intricate carved details by Frank Tory and Sons to provide a dignified and fitting tribute to the loss of life of local parishioners.

Group value:

* it has group value with the nearby tiered stone steps on Union Street (a probable C16 or C17 cross base, Grade II), the Old Rectory in front of which it stands (1720, Grade II), and All Hallows Church (various dates, Grade I).

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised in the village of Harthill as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by fourteen men of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

A memorial committee, which included members of the Parish Council and the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Fund Committee, was in charge of fundraising. The memorial was designed by Sheffield architect John Douglas Webster and the sculpture was by architectural sculptors Frank Tory and Sons, whose work enhances some of Sheffield’s finest late-C19 and early-C20 buildings. The total cost was around £350. The memorial was unveiled by Mr E Soar, manager of Kiveton Park Colliery, and dedicated by the Bishop of Sheffield, the Right Revd Dr Burrows, on 15 August 1920. The ceremony was attended by many of the parish, including discharged and demobilised soldiers and sailors of the parish, boy scouts, schoolchildren, the majority of the councillors and members of the committee, churchwardens, organist and a full choir.

A second plaque commemorating the five local men who died in the Second World War was later added to the wall of the listed rectory behind the memorial.

Details

War Memorial commemorating the fallen of the First and Second World Wars. 1920 to designs by John Douglas Webster with sculpture by Frank Tory and Sons.

MATERIALS: Portland stone cross, limestone kerb and cast iron railings, stone plaques.

PLAN: cross set on a high, octagonal pedestal raised on three octagonal steps, enclosed in a square enclosure.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands in front of the high rectory wall on the east side of Union Street, running north-south through the village. A floriated Latin cross is set on a high, octagonal shaft with two upper, relief-carved floriate bands and a deep base band of relief-carved tracery with a moulded plinth standing on an octagonal pedestal of relief-carved tracery with moulded cap and plinth, on three octagonal steps.

The cross stands in a square, flagged enclosure with a shaped, stone kerb on three sides topped by low, cast-iron railings with a gate on the right-hand side, the fourth side formed by the rectory wall to the rear. Mounted on the wall beneath a stone hoodmould are two stone plaques with incised inscriptions set in stone frames. The top plaque is inscribed TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN HONOURED MEMORY / OF THE HARTHILL MEN / WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN / THE GREAT WAR 1914-19 /THIS CROSS WAS DEDICATED / BY THEIR FELLOW PARISHIONERS / rank, initials and surnames, regiments / R.I.P. The smaller, lower plaque is inscribed 1939-1945 / initials and surnames.

Sources

Books and journals
Harman, R, Minnis, J, Pevsner Architectural Guides: Sheffield (2004), 110

Websites
War Memorials Online, Harthill Cross, accessed 10 March 2025 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/282885/
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, Harthill Parishioners’ Memorial, accessed 10 March 2025 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/52841

Other
Worksop Guardian, Harthill’s Memorial Cross, Friday 20 August, 1920.

End of official list entry