Following an inspection in March by Historic England, Prescot War Memorial, based by St Mary’s Church in Prescot has been awarded listed status.
The memorial has been listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as being of special architectural or historic interest. The memorial, installed in 1916, is one of the first permanent war memorials erected in England – a fact that provides it with additional historic interest.
The memorial commemorates the fallen of Prescot, and with a distinguished design, approval has been granted by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. It is now listed at Grade II and has been included on the National Heritage List for England.
War memorials are among the most tangible and precious reminders of the sacrifices made by communities during the First World War, and the government is committed to seeing all the nation’s memorials placed in a good state of repair by 2018. The Grade II listed war memorial in Prescot will help to ensure the memorial remains in a good state of repair and many generations to come can enjoy part of this landmark in the historic town of Prescot.
Being located in the heart of the town centre within a pedestrianised area, Prescot war memorial is a prominent and highly visible feature within the locality. It has a distinguished design by Samuel Welsby of Widnes who sculpted a number of war memorials and Rolls of Honour.
The memorial features a statue of a soldier from the South Lancashire Regiment, from whose ranks the fallen of the town were from. The memorial's location also complements the neighbouring Grade I listed St Mary's Church – only 2.5% of listed buildings across the country have achieved Grade I status.
John Flaherty, Executive Director (Place), said “Prescot is steeped in history so the Grade II listed status for the war memorial further adds to Prescot being a town packed with heritage. Situated by the Grade I listed St Mary’s Church, the memorial is a very much valued landmark in the town, highlighting the tragic impacts of world events on this community as well as being one of the earliest memorials installed in the country.”
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