Midland Railway War Memorial

Description

As with so many of the memorials commemorating company employees, the commissioning of the memorial for the staff of the Midland Railway Company appears to have been straightforward and uncontroversial.

It takes the form of a cenotaph on a pylon with apsidal ends and is similar to the memorial at Rochdale but without the stone flags and being made in Portland stone rather than granite.

The memorial was unveiled by Charles Booth, the company’s chairman, on 15 December 1921 and was built by J Parnell and Son of Rugby at a cost of £10,309. Lutyens was deputed to choose the sculptor for the body on top of the memorial but, frustratingly, we do not know the choice that he made. It might have been Derwent Wood, with whom he worked upon other memorials, but this is speculation. (Contributor: Tim Skelton)

31 ft high cenotaph with recumbent figure, apsidal ends and flanking walls. Built by J Parnell and Son Ltd at a cost of £10,309. Unveiled on 15 December 1921 by Charles Booth, the company’s Chairman. (Skelton, 2008, Appendix 1)

Bibliography

Gliddon, G. and Skelton, T.J. (2008) Lutyens and the Great War. London: Frances Lincoln.

Also Cited In

Hartwell C, Pevsner N & Williamson E (2016) Derbyshire. The Buildings of England. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Listing Grade

II*

Listing Reference

1228742

Client