War Memorial

1573/0/10010 23-JUL-07

MARKET DRAYTON CHESHIRE STREET War Memorial

II

War Memorial. c.1921.

MATERIALS: Granite and concrete.

PLAN: Cross and battered plinth stand on a square platform of three steps. The memorial stands at the Y-junction between Queen Street and Cheshire Street at the centre of a landscaped area of lawn and shrubs. The memorial faces north-west and to the south-east is a wall which is bowed at either side to partially enclose the cross.

EXTERIOR: The cross has a carved wreath to the centre of both the front and rear with ribbons. The arms are linked by a circular aureole. The shaft is battered and both cross and shaft are polished to the front and back and rough-hewn to the sides and this contrast of textures also appears on the plinth and platform. The plinth carries the names of the fallen from the First World War to three sides and is inscribed to its north-west face "TO/THE GLORY OF GOD/AND/IN MEMORY OF/THE MEN OF MARKET DRAYTON/WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/THE/GREAT WAR 1914-1919/AND/1939-1945". The separate wall is of blocks of granite with a plain coping. The central panel bearing the names of the dead is inscribed "1939-1945".

HISTORY: The cross was unveiled on 11th November 1921 by General Sir Philip Chetwode. The rear wall was added after the Second World War.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: War memorials are highly significant structures with strong historical and cultural connections to many communities across the country. This deliberately simple structure is placed in a prominent position close to the centre of its town and commemorates the men of Market Drayton who gave their lives in both World Wars.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 19 January 2017.