Fearn Memorial - Borough Cemetery

This is an early 20th-century funerary memorial located in Borough Cemetery. It is constructed from sandstone and is a scaled replica of the top of the tower and a 70-meter spire of St George’s Church on Buxton Road, Stockport, a Grade I listed building designed by Paley and Austin and completed in 1896-7.

The memorial features a deep, square plinth with incised corners, set on a squared base that supports a depiction of the church tower. The tower is articulated by pilasters topped with coping and inset battlements. Diagonally set, crocketted pinnacles are positioned at each corner and were originally connected to the spire with thin flying buttresses (though two of these are now missing). The 3.6-meter octagonal spire is carved with a band of trefoil-headed window openings near its base, and a second band near the apex. The lower openings are pierced, like those of the original spire, on alternating faces. Above these pierced openings are carved grotesque relief heads and shields, while the remaining openings are blind. The spire culminates in a cross. An inscription on the east face of the tower in relief lettering commemorates George Fearn JP, who financed the building of St George’s Church, as well as a primary school and vicarage, and who died in 1911 at the age of 65. The plinth below bears the inscription “THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED”.

George Fearn was a prominent local brewer who funded the construction of St George’s Church, a primary school, and a vicarage, all located opposite the cemetery entrance.

The memorial is designated at Grade II for being a well-executed scaled replica of the St George’s Church spire, showcasing a high degree of craftsmanship and providing a strong vertical accent to the cemetery. Its relationship with the original spire of St George’s Church contributes to its group value with the church and the adjacent primary school and vicarage, all also financed by Fearn. A granite memorial to earlier members of the Fearn family adjoins the east side of this memorial; the granite memorial is not of special architectural interest.