Hamsterley Colliery War Memorial

The Hamsterley Colliery War Memorial is a stone cross erected in the early 20th century as a tribute to those who died in the First World War. It stands in a garden north of the main village road, opposite Axford Terrace. The cross is situated on a low bank, with a series of steps leading down to a lawn which is enclosed by a curving hedge and modern railings, replacing an earlier wooden fence. The garden overlooks the River Derwent.

The cross is in the form of a St John’s Cross of Iona, incorporating a reliquary at the very top and five hemispherical bosses on the front face of the cross head. The cross, along with the circlet and shaft, is decorated with rope work. The dates 1914 and 1918 are carved in low relief on the shaft. The cross rises from a broad plinth, which stands on a single-stepped base, itself raised on a three-stepped base. An inscription at the foot of the shaft commemorates Arthur T. Watson, Major, K.R.R., who was killed in action at Passchendaele in August 1917, and expresses the village's sorrow and affection for him.

The main dedication inscription on the plinth’s front face honours the men of the colliery who fought and those who gave their lives for God, country, right, freedom, and peace during the Great War, quoting the biblical verse "See ye to it that these shall not have died in vain; their name liveth for evermore." "Hamsterley Colliery" is carved below on the base. A more recent inscription, added in 2000, states that the memorial was restored by the people of Hamsterley and Low Westwood so that future generations may honour the sacrifice made. First World War names are recorded on the plinth faces, and Second World War names feature on the base.

The modern railings are excluded from the listing.