Parish of Ellel War Memorial, Galgate

First World War memorial of 1921, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: grey sandstone.

PLAN: square.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial comprises a cross with shaft and rectangular plinth, on a square three-stepped base. The cross is an ornate Gothic wheelhead design. The three upper arms are hollow-chamfered and stopped, with domed pyramidal finials, while the bottom arm is chamfered with no stops, to an octagonal foot. The arms are linked by cusped sections, chamfered on the inner half and recalling the tracery of the West window behind. In the centre of the cross is a large Lancashire rose in deep relief. Beneath the foot is a square shaft with flat chamfers, which rises from a pylon-like plinth. The chamfers return to the left and right along the shoulders of the plinth but here are hollow, and are surmounted by tapering, buttress-like finials. The plinth is slightly-tapering and flares at its foot. The front face is inscribed in relief within inset labels:

1914 – 1919/ IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR THEIR COUNTRY,/ ESPECIALLY THOSE/ OF THIS PARISH,/ AND IN GRATITUDE/ FOR THE SAFE/ RETURN OF/ THEIR COMRADES/ 1939 – 1945

The design is the same to the rear (east) face, but here the plinth is inscribed with the names of the 20 men who fell in the First World War, possibly in the order of their deaths as they are not alphabetical and no ranks are given. The left and right returns are approximately half the width of the front and rear faces.

The upper step of the base is inscribed with names on its north (three), east (four) and south (three) faces.