Compstall War Memorial

The Compstall War Memorial, built in 1922 by H Cecil Powell of Manchester, is made of buff sandstone. It is located near the church of St Paul and the parish hall. The memorial features a stone cross on a tapering square plinth, with four octagonal steps, reaching an overall height of about 2.1 meters. The cross is designed after Sir Reginald Blomfield’s Cross of Sacrifice, featuring an octagonal shaft and arms, with a wheelhead cross carved at the center of the crossing. The cross has a moulded foot that is square at its base, resting on the moulded cap of the plinth. Inscriptions in raised lettering are found on the west (front), north, and south faces of the plinth. The front inscription, in Gothic script, reads ‘TO THE GLORY/ OF GOD AND/ IN PROUD AND/ LOVING MEMORY/ OF THE/ MEN OF COMPSTALL/ WHO LAID DOWN/ THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919’. The names of the fallen, presented in serifed capitals and in alphabetical order without ranks, begin on the north face, with an additional 16 names on the south face.