Cumberland and Westmorland Joint Counties’ War Memorial

The Cumberland and Westmorland Joint Counties’ War Memorial is a significant structure built between 1921 and 1922, designed by architect Sir Robert Lorimer and constructed by John Laing and Son Ltd. A plaque was added after 1945 to honor those who fell in the Second World War and later conflicts.

This war memorial is located in the center of Rickerby Park, north of the River Eden. It features a broad raised platform that is 9 meters wide, accessed by stone steps from the south. Atop this platform stands a cenotaph that is 12 meters high, made of shap granite ashlar. The cenotaph has a tapering rectangular shaft set on a chamfered three-tiered base. The shaft is adorned with a sub-cornice featuring foliage carvings, including palm branches, and is topped with a tomb that displays a laurel wreath.

The lower section of the shaft is intricately carved with crests and insignia. On the front, it includes those of Carlisle, Cumberland, the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force, and medical services. The back features the insignia of the Border Regiment, the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry Cavalry, and the Cumberland Artillery. The base of the memorial bears an inscription in raised lettering that reads: "TO THE IMMORTAL MEMORY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN/ OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES DURING THE GREAT WAR/ AND IN HONOUR OF THE GLORIOUS SERVICES OF THE/ BORDER REGIMENT/ WESTMORLAND AND CUMBERLAND YEOMANRY/ CUMBERLAND BRIGADE ROYAL FIELD ARTILLERY/ WESTMORLAND DETACHMENT R.A.M.C." Below this inscription is a bronze plaque that states: "ALSO COMMEMORATING THOSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ WORLD WAR II (1939-1945)/ AND SUBSEQUENT CONFLICTS."

The raised platform consists of three courses of large stone blocks, with two courses of quarry-faced granite topped by an ashlar parapet that features a large terminal block at each corner. The memorial is enclosed by a square boundary made of speared cast-iron railings and a cast-iron gate.