Memorial Title

Fallen of WW1

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a war memorial to the fallen of WW1 comprising a tablet at Steeplehouse Station, Steeple Grange, Derbyshire.

Images

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Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location:
Steeplehouse Station
Old Porter La
Steeple Grange
Wirksworth
Derbyshire

Nearest postcode:
DE4 4GE

NGR:
SK 28838 55468 ±5m
(Map opens in new window.)

Location details:
Old Porter La is a narrow track running south from Porter La (B5035) and gives access to the terminus of the Steeple Grange Light Railway. The memorial is on a bank between the heritage tracks and the High Peak Trail.

Type

Overall type: Tablet

Overall condition: Pristine. The inscription is legible and the memorial is cared for.

Description:

A freestanding tablet of Longcliffe Limestone in the design of a CWGC headstone. The tablet has a shallow arch top , the badge of the London and North Western Railway Company incised at the head and an inscription incised in upright capital roman lettering.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Tablet	Limestone	780	380	75	Pristine
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

AFTER THE GREAT WAR
OF 1914 - 1918
MORE THAN
120 000 HEADSTONES
WERE CARRIED
ON THIS LINE
DESTINED FOR
IMPERIAL WAR GRAVE
CEMETERIES
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Conflicts and people named:
Conflict	First World War (1914-1919)	Totals
Action or event	Not stated
Number died	0	0
Number served and returned	0	0
Total names	0	0

Administration

Custodian: The Steeple Grange Light Railway, Wirksworth WW1 Group, Middleton Parish Council & Village Green Committee.

Local authorities:
From 1974: Wirksworth Town Council; Derbyshire Dales District Council; Derbyshire County Council.

History and Conservation

2018: The tablet was made in Middleton from Longcliffe stone donated by Longcliffe Quarry and engraved by Colin Julien, mason of Middleton. The project was organised by The Steeple Grange Light Railway, Wirksworth WW1 Group and Middleton Parish Council & Village Green Committee. It was funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, The Tarmac Landfill Communities Fund, Better Derbyshire Dales Fund, Derbyshire County and Derbyshire Dales District Councillors, Steeple Grange Light Railway, Wirksworth Rotary, Wirksworth Town Council, Wirksworth WW1 Group, Wirksworth Hidden Gardens and Courtyards, and Middleton Parish Council.

11th November, 2018, morning: The memorial was transported from Middleton to Steeplehouse by rail and installed in the station grounds. (See Comments below.) It was photographed by Glyn Williams.

11th November, 2018, afternoon: The memorial was dedicated by local clergy.

25th November, 2018: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson. It was in pristine condition and well cared for.

References

Glyn Williams; 12th November, 2018; pers comm; an account of the ceremony.

Derby Telegraph; 12th November, 2018; p9 col2: a photograph and report on the ceremony.

Comments

The Steeple Grange Light Railway is a short narrow-gauge heritage railway developed from the remains of a former commercial light railway mineral line built in the 1880s to convey stone from Hoptonwood Quarry to the Cromford & High Peak Branch of the London & North Western Railway. After WW1 it was used to convey 120 000 headstones destined for the Imperial (later Commonwealth) War Graves Commission cemeteries.

About 2017 the chairman of the Steeple Grange Light Railway, Martin Smith, suggested that new memorials be made similar to the headstones and transported in the same way. Three tablets were made for the Wirksworth area, partly to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice and partly to commemorate the production and transport of the original headstones. The new stones were made from Longcliffe stone, the nearest that is currently available to the Hoptonwood stone used for the original headstones and no longer available.

On 11th November 2018 the stones were loaded onto a train at the Middleton terminus of the Steeple Grange Light Railway and transported down the line to Steeplehouse Station where it was installed. Later in the day it was dedicated.

The other two stones were installed elsewhere.

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