Memorial Details

Cross 1914-18 1939-45 Village

I5.01

IVESTON

NZ 139503

On an elevated site near the road through the village, south side of village green.

a. 1914-18
b. 1939-45

a. Unveiled Good Friday 1920 by Capt. G.O. Harper of Villa Real, Consett, who had served.

Cross of Celtic style, 9 feet high, on a two tier tapered base, set in and surrounded by a concrete base 3 yards square. The dedication is carried on the front of the base, the names in a single column on the sides. The names for 1939-45 are on the lower platform. There is a 6 inch high surrounding granite kerb, which at one time had some kind of railings on top which have now been removed. Lettering is incised and leaded using sans serif capitals.
The whole memorial is enclosed by a two-bar tubular rail fixed through six stone piers. At the front of the memorial is a 3 feet high stone wall. Placed inside the gate and in front of the memorial is a stone boulder which appears to have had something fixed to it in the past.

Grey granite

a. Upper base:
Erected by the / inhabitants of the village / to the eternal memory of / the men who gave their lives / for their King & Country / during the Great War / 1914 – 1918.
b. Lower base:
1939 – 1945 (followed by names)

War Memorial Committee

£180

Public subscription.

Designed and made by Messrs Ayton & Sons, of Benfieldside.
Iron palisades were erected by Mr Thomas Armstrong of Iveston.

1. This was the first public war memorial in the immediate locality.

2. The unveiling took place in the presence of a large and representative gathering, despite the adverse weather conditions.

3. Permission to use the site was granted by the Leadgate Urban District Council.

4. Wreaths were placed at the foot of the memorial by Mr J. Best and Mrs Bates. Amongst those present at the ceremony were Messrs W. Briers, A. Blench, James Smith, Jos. Lumley and M. Keenleyside, members of the Leadgate Council.

5. "All but a pound or two having been raised, further subscriptions from those present would be welcome. "

6. Mr John T. Monkhouse, sounded the Last Post on the cornet.

7. The Rev.W.Wright also gave an address and on the motion of Mr William Robson, seconded by Mr. Herbert Cruddas, Treasurer of the fund, thanks were given and carried by the Association. The singing of the National Anthem brought to a close an interesting ceremony.

8. The boulder inside the enclosure is St.Ives’ stone from which the village takes its name. A photo in “Illustrated Chronicle” reads: “This stone is known as St.Ives’ stone, and it is presumed that, from this, the village of Ivestone, near Leadgate, takes its name. Legend says that St. Ives, when a missionary travelling over England, preached from the stone. It stood from the days of St. Ives at the end of the village, and only the erection of the war memorials caused its removal to the site”.
The Blaydon Courier reports: “Archdeacon Watts had told them that this stone was a product of either Iceland or Greenland, and that it had been washed to where it was during the great Ice Age. At least 2,000 years had elapsed since it was washed away.

9. After the erection of the memorial, at a meeting of the Leadgate UD Council a letter was received from Col. C.W. Napier-Clavering, lord of the Manor, stating “that a memorial had been erected on part of the village green without his consent . . . (and) that the Council had from time to time enclosed portions of the green and planted trees without his consent. The Council said lord of the manor had been invited to subscribe towards the memorial but there had been no response. It was asked whether the lord of the manor disputed the Council’s jurisdiction over the village green. When the Council took action to conserve the pond on the green the lord of the manor did not intervene or assist.

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

Consett & Stanley Chronicle 02/05/1920 reports proposed unveiling; 09/05/1920 reports unveiling;

Illustrated Chronicle 25/03/1920 reports proposed unveiling; 22/03/1921 tells the story of St. Ives’ Stone quoted in Note 8 above.

Northern Echo 11/09/1919 reports Leadgate UDC permission to erect the memorial; 10/02/1921 reports dispute with lord of the manor in Note 9 above.

Consett Guardian 09/04/1920 reports unveiling.

Auckland and County Chronicle 08/04/1920 reports unveiling.

Blaydon Courier 03/04/1920 reports acceptance by the Council of invitation to attend the unveiling; 10/04/1920 reports the unveiling.

Iveston – History, Memory, Legends by Mary Kipling contains information with photo on Private Thomas C. Best of 2nd D.L.I. who was the first from the village to be killed in action in 1914-18 plus one or two others.

Consett Guardian 1920 04 09 Fri

Illustrated Chronicle 1920 03 25 Thu

Illustrated Chronicle 1921 03 22 Tue

Northern Echo 1919 09 11 Thu

Northern Echo 1921 02 10 Thu

Dorothy and Alan Hall visited 27th May 2018 - retook photos.

Errol Broomfield; Ron Carson; Fitzhugh Collection, Middleton in Teesdale; Alan Vickers; Dorothy Hall; Pauline Priano

All the WW1 names on this memorial have been researched. See Iveston Every Name a Story entries.

 

Iveston Roadside

   Erected by the

   inhabitants of this village

   to the eternal memory of

   the men who gave their lives

   for their King & Country

   during the Great War

   1914 – 1918.

--------------------------------

Left Side             Right Side.  

   Thomas C. Best        Stanley Brown

   Thomas Wilson         Carlyle Johnson

   Robert Parker         William Kingston

   William Foster        John Wm. Kirkpatrick

   George Hooper

---------------------------------

Front Lower Base.   

   1939 – 1945.

   Thomas Best           Gordon Shearer

   Sydney Vine           Leslie Gill

   Newspaper report reads “Forster”.

NamesI5.01

Notes for this Parish

Individual stories for this Parish