Cross of Sacrifice

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Freestanding grey limestone memorial cross with an inscribed plinth and screen wall, erected c.1929 to the standardised design by Sir Reginald Blomfield, commemorating the military casualties of the First World War. Located on a prominent corner site within Milltown Cemetery on the Falls Road area in Belfast.

Carved grey limestone cross over a three-stage octagonal limestone plinth, framed by an ashlar limestone free-standing screen wall to the north-west, and elevated on a stepped sandstone platform. The slightly tapered cross has an octagonal plan over a matching stepped base; a bronze downward-pointing sword is mounted to the centre of the principal south-eastern elevation, in line with the crossing point between the arm and shaft of the cross. Three stage octagonal plinth of grey ashlar limestone matching that of cross, having two courses of rock-faced limestone to the base of the lower stage, topped with ashlar limestone slabs. The upper stage bears an engraved inscription to the principal three faces; ‘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’; a second inscription to five faces of the offset base reads; ‘Eternal rest grant to them O’Lord’.

The screen wall is of matching ashlar limestone over base with central elevation facing south-east; flanked by angled proportions, which step down to outer sides. Wall surmounted by deep coping, which is steeply chamfered to south-east, framing principal elevation containing seven mounted panels inscribed with names of those commemorated by the memorial; central panel inscribed; ‘In memory of those who gave their lives in the Great War and who lie buried in this cemetery’.

Symmetrical six-sided platform comprises ashlar stone flags over coursed rock-faced limestone walls (partially exposed to southern and eastern sides), with rounded corners to south-east, flanking three inset steps.

Row of sixteen headstones marking graves dedicated to Second World War military personnel, located near the eastern boundary of the cemetery, with headstones placed at the foot of graves. Those of local and Commonwealth casualties have the traditional commissioned headstones; those of seven Polish nationals are pointed-headed and feature the Polish eagle carved in relief.

Setting
Situated on an elevated site facing south-east, the Cross of Sacrifice is centrally located within the Milltown Cemetery (HB26/22/002), which lies on the eastern side of the Falls Road, Belfast. The prominent site occupies the south-eastern corner of an unrelated mass grave plot, at the junction between the principal roadway and a pedestrian walkway. The Airmen graves are located to the north-eastern end of the cemetery, orientated on a north-south axis. The graves line the eastern side of the road, with the headstones set back from the road and facing west (unusually, these are placed at the foot of the graves). The Blitz Memorial is sited to the eastern end of the graveyard, set back from the road and facing east (HB26/22/002E). The cemetery contains other listed memorials; the Clark Canavan Cross (HB26/22/002B) and the Bowen Vault (HB26/22/002C).

Materials
Cross; Limestone with bronze ornamentation
Airmen Graves; Limestone
Blitz memorial; Granite & concrete

Historical information

Historical Background
The Cross of Sacrifice, a limestone war memorial located on a prominent corner site within Milltown Cemetery, was erected in November 1929 (Hartley) to commemorate the casualties of the Great War (1914-18), whose graves are scattered throughout the cemetery.

More than one million men from Britain and the Commonwealth died during the First World War, the majority were buried where they fell, or their bodies never recovered. The scale of loss was unprecedented and through the absence of graves upon which to grieve, communal war memorials were subsequently embraced on a national scale (English Heritage, Issue 66). Following the end of the First World War the Imperial War Graves Commission (established in 1917 and 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. They sought to produce a memorial design, which would honour all causalities of war equally, a principle that was laid out in the framework prepared by Sir Frederick Kenyon in 1918. Blomfield (1856-1942) was a prolific London-based architect, who was experienced in the design of war including that of 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 featured a simple freestanding limestone cross (sometimes granite), of an elongated and abstract form, mounted upon an octagonal base and fastened with a pair of bronze dowels. The proportions are based on those of the Celtic Cross, opposed to the Christian form, thus evoking the proportions of the human body. Upon the face of the cross was a bronze longsword (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, successfully combining religious themes with the chivalric (Geurst; CWGC). However the abstract and functional design was unornamented and free from any association with particular styles, as Blomfield sought ‘to keep clear of any of the sentimentalities of Gothic’ as in his view ‘runic monuments or gothic crosses had nothing to do with the grim terrors of the trenches’ (CWGC; King). 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.’ The seven-panel screen wall located behind the cross at Milltown Cemetery, is a feature sometimes incorporated with Crosses of Sacrifice, and one of the panels features the inscription; ‘IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR AND WHO ARE BURIED IN THIS CEMETARY’.

The original intent was for Blomfield’s design to be used as a basis from which junior architect’s would design their own crosses for individual cemeteries, however due to the widespread popularity, Blomfiled’s standard design was the only type implemented and has since become the archetypal example of First World War Commemoration in Britain. Originally produced in four heights, (14ft, 18ft, 20ft and 24ft), sizes of over 30ft are now permitted, with the largest being a 40ft cross erected in Halifax Nova Scotia.

Milltown Cemetery (HB/26/22/002A) was established by the Roman Catholic Church in order to provide adequate burial ground for the growing Catholic population of the expanding industrial city. Opened in 1869, following a dispute raised by Bishop Dorrian, regarding the inadequate provision of Catholic burial ground at the intended municipal cemetery on the Falls Road, Dorrian purchased 15 acres on the Falls Road for a new Catholic cemetery, which was opened in 1869 (HB/26/22/002A listing NIEA).

There are total of 105 First World War casualties buried in Milltown, including three French sailors, and 53 from the Second World War, which include 7 Polish airmen. There are 35 headstones carrying inscriptions for 37 First World War military personnel, while 19 of the Second World War casualties are inscribed on family headstones within the cemetery. Six panels of the screen wall located behind the Cross of Sacrifice are inscribed with the names of 45 First World War military casualties who are buried in 39 public graves in the poor ground of the cemetery, as their graves cannot be marked by headstones (Hartley).

In August 1940 a new lot for military causalities was set aside to the west-side of the cemetery. During the Second World War, Milltown was the only burial ground in the north of Ireland in which military causalities from that war were unmarked. A dispute between the cemetery and the War Graves Commission arose over the erection of temporary wooden grave markers but was later resolved by the installation of semi-permanent painted steel crosses over the graves (Hartley).

References

Primary Sources
1. PRONI OS/6/1/60/3 - Third edition OS map (1901)
2. PRONI OS/6/1/60/4 - Fourth edition OS map (1920)
3. NIEA File (HB/26/22/002A)
4. Belfast Telegraph (4th May 2012)
5. Belfast Telegraph (3rd September 2015)

Secondary Sources
1. Frantzen, Allen. J ‘Bloody Good; Chivalry, Sacrifice and the Great War’ University of Chicago Press (2004)
2. Geurst, Jereon ‘Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens’ (2010)
3. Hartley, Tom ‘Milltown Cemetery; The History of Belfast Written in Stone’ (2014)
4. Quinn, Raymond ‘ Milltown Cemetery; A Brief History’ (2000)
5. PRONI D4145/4/4 The Rushlight: The Belfast Magazine, vol. 23, no. 7 (no date)
6. Scott. R ‘A Breath of Fresh Air; The Story of Belfasts Parks’ (2000)
7. ‘Silent Cities’ RIBA, London, (1977)
8. English Heritage Designation Listing Selection Guide ‘Commemorative Structures’ (April 2011)
9. English Heritage Conservation Bulletin ‘The Heritage of Death’ Issue 66, (Summer 2011)

Online Sources
1. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.CWGC.org)
2. Dictionary of Irish Architects: (www.dia.ie)
3. (http://www.niwarmemorial.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/The_Belfast_Blitz.pdf)
4. (http://www.waryearsremembered.co.uk/home/POLISH.htm)
5. Glenravel History Project ‘A Brief History of Milltown Cemetery’ (http://issuu.com/glenravel/docs/milltown/38)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

U. Historic Associations
V. Authorship
W. Northern Ireland/International Interest
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
R. Age
T. Historic Importance
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Freestanding Cross of Sacrifice, dating c.1929 to designs by Sir Reginald Blomfield. The cross commemorates the dead of WWI and it was commissioned by the Imperial War Graves Commission. Its skilfully abstract and functional design constitutes an iconic piece of work, standardised and installed in cemeteries in many countries, subsequently embraced across Britain as a national symbol of remembrance. Almost identical memorials are erected in both City and Dundonald Cemetery (HB26.13.050 & HB26.25.001L). Providing a tangible link to historic conflicts, which defined the 20th century, these memorials are of increasing significance as such events begin to pass from living memory. Inclusion of the screen wall, which is inscribed with the names of the military casualties, provides a further layer of social interest and historical significance to the ensemble. Prominently located on a main axis route in the historic Milltown Cemetery (HB26/22/002) in Belfast, this Cross of Sacrifice positively contributes to the visual fabric and to the rich social and cultural heritage within the cemetery. A number of other structures within the cemetery are also of special interest; including the gate screen (HB26.22.002A); the Clark Canavan Cross (HB26.22.002B); and the Bowen Vault (HB26.22.002C).