Memorial Title

Hopton Wood Stone Company

Summary

Derbyshire War Memorials: a description of a WW1 tablet commemorating the Hopton Wood Stone Company, Middleton, Derbyshire.

Images

Click on a thumbnail to see a larger image.
Further images may be available on request.

Locations

Last known location:
Private premises
Main St (B5023)
Middleton
Derbyshire

Nearest postcode:
DE4 4LR

NGR:
SK 27907 55553 ±5m
(Map opens in new window.)

Location details:
The building is on the east side of the road. The tablet is on the external west wall, visible from the public highway, but there is no right of access to the site. Middleton is also widely known as Middleton by Wirksworth to distinguish it from other Middletons.

Type

Overall type: Tablet. See Comments below, however.

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

Description:

A limestone tablet modelled on the CWGC headstone with a shallow rounded top but with an inscription incised in upright, sentence case block lettering.

Glossary

Components:

Component	Material	Height	Width	Depth	Condition
Tablet	Limestone	c840	380	c75	Good
Dimensions in millimetres ±5mm unless stated otherwise.

Inscription

On this site
Over 120.000 headstones
were made from local
Hopton Wood Limestone
for the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission
after the great war of
1914 ~ 1918

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: Not known

Local authorities:
From 1974: Middleton Parish Council; Derbyshire Dales District Council; Derbyshire County Council.

History and Conservation

cApril, 2014: The tablet was installed on the wall of the building.

30th June, 2019: The memorial was surveyed by Roy Branson. It was in good condition and cared for.

References

Derby Telegraph; 9th May, 2014; p9 col5: A report on the installation of the tablet.

Derby Telegraph; 11th April, 2017; p12 col1: A report on the production of the headstones in the 1920s.

Comments

This tablet is not a war memorial: it does not commemorate anyone or any organisation affected by the war and it does not fall within the definition of a war memorial adopted by most heritage organisations. It is included here because of its close association with the aftermath of the war and the dedicated work of local craftsmen. It is also seen by the local community as a significant memorial arising from the Great War.

At the time when the headstones were produced the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was known as the Imperial War Graves Committee.

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