Fartown and Birkby war memorial is a Grade II listed building in the Kirklees local planning authority area, England. First listed on 7 March 2018. War memorial.

Fartown and Birkby war memorial

WRENN ID
western-wicket-spindle
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Kirklees
Constituency
Huddersfield MP: Harpreet Uppal (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
7 March 2018
Type
War memorial
Address
Fartown and Birkby war memorial, Norman Park, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD2 2UD
OS grid reference
SE 140 184
Coordinates
53.66192, -1.78837
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Fartown and Birkby War Memorial is a First World War memorial built in 1921 by Hart, Son, Peard and Co Ltd, with an inscription for the Second World War added later.

Constructed from granite, the memorial features a tall pedestal with a tapering shaft and panelled sides, topped by a cornice and a life-size bronze figure of an infantry soldier in full fighting kit, standing at ease with his hands on an upright rifle resting on the ground. The entire structure is set on a two-stepped platform made of the same granite.

Originally, each of the four panelled sides of the pedestal displayed bronze plaques with dedications and the names of 242 men from the district who lost their lives during the First World War. These have been replaced with modern black polished granite plaques. The front (south-west) face features a carved wreath at the top and an inscription that reads: 'THIS MONUMENT/ HAS BEEN ERECTED BY/ PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION IN/ MEMORY OF THE MEN/ FROM THE FARTOWN AND/ BIRKBY DISTRICTS WHO/ GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR/ THEIR COUNTRY IN/ THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ FOR GOD AND KING AND HOME/ THEY GAVE THEIR ALL'. Below this, there is a smaller plaque stating: 'THIS MEMORIAL WAS UNVEILED BY/ GENERAL SIR IAN HAMILTON G.C.B. G.C.M.G. M.G.D.S.O./ ON SATURDAY APRIL 2nd 1921'. Additionally, there is a plaque that reads: 'IN MEMORY OF ALL/ THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR/ LIVES DURING THE/ SECOND WORLD WAR/ AND ALL SUBSEQUENT/ CONFLICTS', which was added later. The other sides of the pedestal continue to bear plaques with the names of the fallen, including a smaller plaque at the base of the rear (north-east) face.

Local climate

Fartown and Birkby war memorial sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 980 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 78% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 71% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 46 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 87% of listed buildings. Of these, 26 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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