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Whitkirk

The war memorial at St Mary’s Church, Whitkirk is in the form of a lychgate. It is a grade II listed structure and is set in the north facing wall around St Mary’s Church. The timber roof, trusses and posts are reported to be of teak from decommissioned World War II battleships. The shingles are of Canadian Cedar and the base is constructed of stone. The gate was originally of timber, however, following vandalism of two plaques in 1970 these were replaced with the wrought iron gates and the plaques replaced in a different material.

An application for the Grants for War Memorials Scheme was received in 2011 for the like-for-like replacement of the cedar shingles, which were in poor condition, cleaning of timber work and paving stones, re-pointing and the repair of the metal gates and grilles. The project was completed in April 2012 and a grant award of £4,085 was paid against an overall project cost of £8,170. 

The memorial lychgate commemorates the fallen of World War I and II. It was dedicated in June 1949 and the service of dedication was conducted by the Bishop of Ripon. It was designed by local draftsmen Mr John T. L. Coope. Inside the lychgate are two metal plaques with the names of the fallen.

An interesting element of this memorial is the use of a number of stones from historic buildings damaged in World War II. These include stones from the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral and a number of more local important buildings such as Leeds Town Hall. Some of these stones have been carved with the initials of the building they originate from. The use of stones from damaged buildings was the idea of Mr Coope who felt it would add to the structure as a memorial. Mr Coope contacted various bodies requesting donations of stones including Winston Churchill who gave permission for the use of stone from the damaged Houses of Parliament.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM5093
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 22234

National Heritage List

If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org

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