Rochdale Cenotaph

The Rochdale Cenotaph is a memorial made of Cornish granite, located in Memorial Gardens in front of Rochdale Town Hall. The cenotaph and the Stone of Remembrance are positioned on a broad rectangular dais featuring three equal steps.

Standing approximately 10 meters tall, the cenotaph is set on an additional six steps. It consists of a rectangular pier that narrows as it rises to a taller, slimmer pier, which is flanked by stout semi-columns on the north-west and south-east sides. The top section has an abacus that supports a catafalque with a draped recumbent figure. Carved wreaths that enclose the arms of Rochdale rest against the upper plinth. From the lower plinth, four carved, painted flags project outward. The south-west side displays the Union Flag on the left and the White Ensign on the right, while the north-east side features the RAF Ensign on the left and the Red Ensign on the right. The flagpoles are topped with decorative pinnacles encircled by laurel wreaths.

Inscriptions are carved into the narrower pier: on the south-west side, "1914 – 1919/ 1939 – 1945"; on the north-west side, "TO THE MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF/ ROCHDALE/ WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR"; on the north-east side, "MCMXIV/ + /MCMXIX/ ET/ MCMXXXIX/ +/ MCMXLV"; and on the south-east side, "THEY WERE A WALL/ UNTO US BOTH BY/ NIGHT AND BY DAY." This last dedication is a quotation from the Book of Samuel, selected following an appeal in the Rochdale Observer. A later bronze plaque below reads, "TO ALL THOSE WHO DIED/ IN THE/ SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY."

To the south-east of the cenotaph, facing the Town Hall, the Stone of Remembrance is raised on three steps from the dais. It is inscribed with "THEIR NAME LIVETH/ FOR EVERMORE." All lettering on the memorial is gilded, as are the flagpoles and flag wreaths.