Cross 1914-18 1939-45 St. Ebba’s Churchyard

St. Ebba’s Churchyard, Shaw Lane

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled Wednesday 18th January 1922 by Mr. Francis Priestman, J.P.;
dedicated by Rev. T.G. Gibson, rector, in the absence of the Bishop of Durham.

b. Dedicated Remembrance Sunday 1996

Sandstone

Designer – Rector, Rev. J. George Gibson;
made by Mr. H.S. Turner of Gateshead.

a.
1914-1918
To the
Glory of God
and to the
honoured memory
of the following
who gave their lives
for God
Home and Country.

“Greater love
hath no man
than this”.

Lower stone
“The souls of the righteous are in the hands of God”.

Rear:
Lest We Forget
1921 John George Gibson
Rector from 1895

Cross of St. Cuthbert’s type on short shaft resting on a tapering pedestal on a step.

The cross has a raised boss and decoration on the arms.

On the front, at the top of the shaft, St. George is depicted slaying the dragon inside a laurel wreath carved in half relief, with the dedication incised below.

The names are incised in a single column on the pedestal.

Half way down the rear of the shaft is a coat of arms raised in half relief, with the words “Lest We Forget” incised into the pedestal.

Lettering throughout is in sans serif capitals.

1. The day of the unveiling in 1922 there was snowstorm resulting in only a small attendance, and also prevented the Bishop of Durham from attending.

2. The following poem by E. Armstrong of Medomsley was printed in a newspaper report:
Here noble sons of Derwent braes
Those noble men of birth:
Though now perchance their bodies lie
In far-off foreign earth.
So let this new erected stone
On which our eyes may gaze
Read there the names who did atone
For us in wartime days”.

3. The coat of arms is, apparently, that of the rector who designed the memorial.

4. The vicar in 1996, Rev. Allison Harrison, was instrumental in having the names from 1939-45 added to the memorial.

5. Ellen Ross, older sister of Sydney Ross, attended the dedication of the 1939-45 names. She died in December that same year.

6. In 2018 the cross was renovated and the area grassed.

Historic England Listing

Photos: Simon Raine; Ron Carson, Errol Broomfield; Dorothy Hall

Blaydon Courier
28/01/1922 reports unveiling.

Consett and Stanley Chronicle
27/01/1922 reports unveiling.

Consett Guardian
27/01/1922 reports unveiling with photos.

Illustrated Chronicle
19/01/1922 reports unveiling with photos.

Newcastle Daily Chronicle
19/01/1922 reports unveiling.

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle
21/01/1922 reports unveiling.

Order of Service

Diocese of Durham
Faculty Books DDR/EJ/FAC/3/8123 has photograph.
Faculty number 8123, issued 06/06/1996, allowed the addition of 1939-45 names to be engraved on the right hand side of the base using matching lettering.

Sources of quotations:
“Greater love hath no man . . .”: St. John 15 v 13;
“Souls of righteous . . .” Apocrypha Wisdom of Solomon 3 v 1;
“Lest we forget” : “Recessional”, Rudyard Kipling

Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale;
Ron Carson;
Errol Broomfield;
John and Mavis Dixon;
Rev. Allison Harrison;
Dorothy Hall;
Alex Askew;
Eric Heatherington

If you are researching this memorial please contact 2014@newmp.org.uk