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Leyburn

The Grade II listed war memorial in the North Yorkshire town of Leyburn stands on the north western edge of the market place in a conservation area. It is a sandstone cross on a shaft but of unusual design; the wheel cross is solid with stone spheres at the end of each arm of the cross and the centre. The shaft has a down-pointing sword carved in half relief on the front face. The cross stands on a plinth, which is on a three-stepped base. The memorial is surrounded by a paved area. After the Second World War a panel was added along the western face of the top step. Around 1960 a low stone wall was put up around the memorial, topped with metal railings.

The memorial has received multiple grants and the summary details of this record relate to the most recent grant.

In January 2005 English Heritage gave £545 towards the cleaning of the memorial, re-pointing the joints, cleaning and re-enamelling the railings and repairing ironwork and resetting the stone kerb.

In addition War Memorial Trust granted £200 towards commissioning new panels to be added to the northern and southern faces of the top step of the memorial, to match the one added to the western face after the Second World War. The stone came from a local quarry, Grey Yaud at Jervaulx. The name of a local soldier who had fallen in Iraq was inscribed on the new panel on the north side of the memorial.

A further grant of £760 was awarded in 2020 through the Grants for War Memorials scheme to rake out the failed mortar within the joints and repoint with an appropriate lime mortar.

The memorial was built in 1927/8. It has “1914” inscribed on one face of the plinth and “1918” on the opposite face. Names from World War I inscribed on the front face of the plinth are

Henry Beswick Pioneer R.E.
James Chilton Pte. W. Yorks
J. Raymond Clapham Guns RGA
George W. Clark Pte. York and Lancs.
Frederick Holmes Pte.Lancs Fus.
Alfred W. Salmon L/ Cpl. Yorks. Regt.
William Smith M.M. Cpl. RGA
John W. Teasdale Pte. Yorks Regt.
Thomas Wardman Pte. Lancs. Fus.
Walter E. Wilkinson Pte. KOYLI

Inscribed below this on the top step are the words

Erected near the site of the old market cross which was removed in 1837.

On the opposite face of the plinth is the inscription

This cross was
erected by the
inhabitants to
the memory of the
men of Leyburn
who gave their
lives in the
Great War

and more names are listed below this.

The inscription that was added to the new panel in 2005 reads

In honoured memory of those who gave
their lives for the country
since the Second World War.
Iraq 2003 Capt. P. Guy R.M.

Further information

War Memorials Trust reference WM695
UK National Inventory of War Memorials: 30305

War Memorials Online: WMO/93996

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

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