Cross of Sacrifice

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Free-standing limestone ashlar war memorial cross, erected c.1928, to the designs of Sir Reginald Blomfield. Located on an elevated site within the grounds of Derry City Cemetery to the west of Lone Moor Road.

Octagonal plan tapering limestone ashlar cross with bronze sword applied to the front and set on an octagonal tiered pedestal and base. The pedestal is inscribed; 'THIS CROSS OF SACRIFICE IS ONE IN DESIGN AND INTENTION WITH THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN SET UP IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM AND OTHER PLACES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHERE OUR DEAD OF THE GREAT WAR ARE LAID TO REST. THEIR NAME LIVETH FOREVER.’.

Setting:
Set on a sloping site within a lawned area along the bitmac avenue to the cemetery with rubblestone retaining wall to the west. Located on an elevated site within the grounds of Derry City Cemetery to the west of Lone Moor Road.

Materials:
Roof N/A
RWG N/A
Walling limestone ashlar stone
Windows N/A

Historical information

The Cross of Sacrifice, a limestone war memorial located within Derry City Cemetery, was constructed in the late-1920s. Following the end of the First World War the Imperial War Graves Commission (established in 1917 - now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) appointed Sir Reginald Blomfield to design a standard war memorial that would be erected in Commonwealth cemeteries that contained more than 40 war graves. Blomfield (1856-1942) was a prolific London-based architect who also designed the Belgian War Memorial at Victoria Embankment (1917), Menin Gate Memorial and St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres (1922; 1928) and the Royal Air Force Memorial in London (1923).

The Commission approved Blomfield’s standard design for the Cross of Sacrifice, which was a simple freestanding limestone cross usually mounted upon an octagonal base. Upon the face of the cross was a bronze sword (in the style of Excalibur) that faced downwards. The marrying of the cross and sword was intended to represent the faith and self-sacrifice of those who had died during the Great War. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that Blomfield designed the memorial as a simple cross in order ‘to keep clear of any of the sentimentalities of Gothic’ (CWGC). Upon the octagonal base of the each memorial was engraved the following standard inscription: ‘THIS CROSS OF SACRIFICE IS ONE IN DESIGN AND INTENTION WITH THOSE WHICH HAVE BEEN SET UP IN FRANCE AND BELGIUM AND OTHER PLACES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHERE OUR DEAD OF THE GREAT WAR ARE LAID TO REST. THEIR NAME LIVETH FOREVER.’

Derry City Cemetery was first laid out in 1853. Canning states that prior to this date the majority of burials in the city were carried out at the graveyards attached to St. Columb’s Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Church and Long Tower Chapel. Due to the increasing population of the city in the mid-Victorian period, Londonderry Corporation sought to create a new cemetery to relieve the overcrowded church cemeteries. The city cemetery was established in 1853 on slightly over 13 acres of land owned by David Watt & Co., a local Distillery based on Abbey Street. The cemetery was laid out by George Milne, a landscape gardener who was also responsible for the construction of the city’s reservoir. The second edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853) records that the Lone Moor Road entrance to the cemetery was originally located to the south-west of the current entrance. The map notes that the cemetery was laid out with paths and had been planted with trees and vegetation and that the original entrance was located across from the Brandywell Road. The first burial took place on 10th December 1853 with burials at the church cemeteries ceasing from 1st Jan 1867 (Hume, p. 64; Canning).

By the end of the First World War the bodies of 95 soldiers (and other casualties) had been buried at Derry City Cemetery making the site eligible for the erection of a Cross of Sacrifice. The First Survey Record notes that the memorial was constructed near the entrance to the cemetery in the 1920s (most likely the late-1920s as identical memorials were installed in cemeteries in Belfast at this time). The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that, following the end of the Second World War, the bodies of an additional 101 casualties were buried at Derry City Cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice continues to be utilised as part of the annual remembrance ceremonies for both conflicts (CWGC).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/5/20/2 – Second Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1853)
2. PRONI VAL/12/E/157/1/18 – Annual Revisions Town Plan (c. 1873-1910)
3. PRONI VAL/2/B/5/16E – Griffith’s Valuation (1856)
4. PRONI VAL/12/B/32/10C-10G – Annual Revisions (1866-97)
5. PRONI VAL/12/B/33/3B-3C – Annual Revisions (1898-1929)
6. PRONI VAL/3/C/6/12 – First General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1936-57)
7. PRONI VAL/4/B/5/17 – Second General Revaluation of Property in Northern Ireland (1956-72)
8. Ulster Town Directories (1852-1943)
9. Census of Ireland (1901; 1911)
10. First Survey Record – HB01/16/001 (1970)
11. NIEA HB Records – HB01/16/001

Secondary Sources
1. Calley, D., ‘City of Derry: An historical gazetteer to the buildings of Londonderry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 2013 (includes 1899 Valuation Map).
2. Canning, B., ‘Derry City Cemetery: 1853-2003 – 150 years’ Londonderry, 2003.
3. Dean, J. A. K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster: A gazetteer’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1994.
4. Ferguson, W. S; Rowan, A. J; Tracey, J. J., ‘List of historic buildings, groups of buildings, areas of architectural importance in and near the city of Derry’ Belfast: Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, 1970.
5. Hume, J., ‘Derry beyond the walls: Social and economic aspects of the growth of Derry 1825-1850’ Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation, 2002.
6. Rowan, A. J., ‘The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster’ London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Online Resources
1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission website - http://www.cwgc.org/
2. Dictionary of Irish Architects - http://www.dia.ie/

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

A free-standing limestone ashlar war memorial cross, erected c.1928, to the designs of Sir Reginald Blomfield, a prolific London-based architect who also designed the Belgian War Memorial at Victoria Embankment (1917), Menin Gate Memorial and St. George’s Memorial Church in Ypres (1922; 1928) and the Royal Air Force Memorial in London (1923). The cross is located on an elevated site within the grounds of Derry City Cemetery to the west of Lone Moor Road. This is one of several identical memorials erected to commemorate the victims of World War One, the cross is well executed and of simple design. A similar cross is located in Belfast City Cemetery (HB26/25/001L). This memorial is an important symbol of the sacrifices made by many citizens of Londonderry and remains the site of WWI commemorations.