Cleadon War Memorial

MATERIALS: Heworth stone, Welsh slate, metal plaques.

DESCRIPTION: The war memorial stands in a garden on Front Street, in front of Cleadon Tower (Grade II-listed). It takes the form of a large rough-hewn Heworth stone boulder raised on a rocky cairn. At the top of the front face of the boulder a wreath is carved in low relief, below which a plaque of South Welsh slate with a carved border of oak leaves bears the principal dedicatory inscription. This reads IN HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF CLEADON WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE/ GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919/ (14 NAMES)/ ALSO IN TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO SERVED/ (107 NAMES).

The rocky cairn was originally round on plan, encircling and supporting the boulder. The front quadrant of the cairn was cut away to let in the Second World War component of the memorial. That comprises a stone altar, rectangular on plan, with a sword carved in low relief on the upper surface of the altar table. The front of the altar bears a South Welsh slate plaque recording the later inscription LET US ALSO REMEMBER/ THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE WAR/ 1939 – 1945/ (32 NAMES).

A stone block, the top of which is shaped in the form of an open book with metal plaques fixed to the two open pages, stands at the foot of the altar. The plaque to the left reads IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE YOUNG/ MEN AND WOMEN/ FROM CLEADON/ COTTAGE HOMES/ WHO SERVED/ DURING THE/ WORLD WARS/ 1914-1919/ 1939-1945. The plaque to the right reads THEY THAT PUT/ ASIDE TODAY/ ALL THE JOYS/ OF THEIR TODAY/ AND WITH TOIL/ OF THEIR TODAY/ BOUGHT FOR US/ TOMORROW/ RUDYARD KIPLING.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The garden is enclosed by a chain supported on low posts. A flagpole stands to the rear of the memorial. These features are not of special interest.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 7 February 2017.