SD7441 : Clitheroe Castle: war memorial (side view)
taken 5 years ago, near to Clitheroe, Lancashire, England
Clitheroe Castle and the surrounding park was bought by the people of Clitheroe by public subscription in 1920 and declared a memorial to the men who had lost their lives in the Great War (see SD7441 : Memorial plaques by the castle entrance). The War Memorial, in the newly created Garden of Remembrance, was unveiled in 1923.
The memorial itself is in the form of a soldier standing in mourning pose with his head bowed and arms reversed. This statue is similar to (if not the same as) the one on the Slaidburn War Memorial Link .
The inscription on the plinth reads:
“Erected by the inhabitants of Clitheroe in grateful remembrance of their fellow townsmen who gave their lives in defence of their King and Country in the Great War 1914 1918”.
The castle was built by the De Lacy family to whom William the Conqueror had granted lands around what was then called Cliderow. It is situated overlooking the Ribble Valley, a major trade route across the Pennines since Roman times or earlier.
Only the roofless keep and a short length of wall remain of the medieval fortifications, but they are listed grade I (list entry 1071553), and with the castle grounds form a Scheduled Ancient Monument (entry 1016196).
The Castle site and grounds were purchased by public subscription by the then borough council from Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in November 1920, to form a memorial to the 260 soldiers from the town who lost their lives in the war. The grounds were laid out as a public park, as they remain to this day, and are listed grade II, entry 1001361.