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Lower Crumpsall World War I
Town or City: Manchester
County: Greater Manchester
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM2013
Value of grant: £3800.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Restoration
Grant scheme: English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation Grants
Year: 2007
UKNIWM reference number: 18508
Lower Crumpsall war memorial stands in the churchyard of St Thomas’ with St. Mark’s Church, in north Manchester. The sandstone pillar has a pitched top with a fleur-de-lis finial and coping and above this is a foliate wheel cross. The memorial stands on a two-stepped base and concrete flagstones. There is a dedication and roll of honour on the memorial commemorating the fallen of World War I. The lettering is inscribed into the stone. Above the roll of honour is a badge depicting a crossed knife and long handled hook.
The memorial has received multiple grants and the summary details of this record relate to the most recent grant.
An application was made to the first round of the Grants for War Memorials scheme in 2007/8 for conservation work on the memorial. This application was unsuccessful as the Grants Panel had concerns about the structural stability of the monument. The custodians of the memorial therefore undertook a structural survey and in July 2007 received a grant of £165 towards this work through the Small Grants Scheme. This survey revealed that the memorial had suffered structural movement caused by settlement of the concrete foundation due to extraction of moisture from the clay by tree roots. The recommendation was to re-locate the memorial to somewhere unaffected by tree roots, or to make new foundations for the memorial that went deeper than the tree roots.
In the second round of applications in 2007/8 English Heritage and the Wolfson Foundation granted £3,800 towards work to dismantle the memorial and excavate and consolidate the ground and form a new concrete base below ground level, deep enough to prevent damage by tree root activity. The memorial would then be cleaned, repaired and re-erected, and the surrounding paving re-laid. The option to relocate the memorial was not chosen because the site is well wooded.
The inscription on the memorial reads:
"To the Glory
of God and
in memory of the
soldiers and sailors
connected with
the Parish of
Lower Crumpsall
who nobly laid
down their lives
whilst serving
their King and
country
1914-1918
This monument was
erected by public
subscription
Death is swallowed
up in victory."
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM2013
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 18508
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org