Manchester Cenotaph

Cenotaph, St Peter's Square

The Manchester Cenotaph in St Peter's Square, Manchester, England, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Built in Portland stone, it was erected in 1924 as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the First World War. It is similar to the cenotaph designed by Lutyens for Whitehall; "a pylon in diminishing stages with a figure of the Unknown Soldier draped in a greatcoat on top".^[1] The cenotaph sits in a memorial garden designed by L. C. Howitt, which also contains a stone cross commemorating the Church of St Peter, built in 1789–94 by James Wyatt and demolished in 1907.^[2] The north-east side of the memorial bears the inscription: TO THE HONOURED MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY. On the south west side the inscription is: O LORD GOD OF OUR FATHERS KEEP FOR EVER IN THE IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF THE HEART OF THY PEOPLE. The Cenotaph was designated a Grade II* listed building on 3 September 1974.^[3]

During March 2011, Manchester City Council announced a consultation on moving the cenotaph to an alternative site within St Peter's Square in order for the nearby Metrolink station to be expanded.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ Hartwell (2002) p. 202.
2. ^ Hartwell, Hyde, and Pevsner (2004) p. 332.
3. ^ "War Memorial, Manchester". British Listed Buildings. http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-457622-war-memorial-manchester. 
4. ^ "Manchester's cenotaph 'could be moved'". BBC News. 8 March 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12676749. 

References

• Hartwell, Clare (2002). Manchester. Pevsner Architectural Guides. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-071131-8. 
• Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2004). Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East. The Buildings of England. New Haven;London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-10583-5. 

Coordinates: 53°28′39″N 2°14′38″W / 53.4776°N 2.2438°W / 53.4776; -2.2438