York Historic Environment Record

War Memorial, 1921, designed by Brierley and Rutherford, in Portland stone. The memorial takes the form of a floriated cross head surmounting a tapering stone column, approximately 2 metres high, standing on a tapered stone plinth. The base below has two steps and the whole stands in a small enclosure in the corner of the churchyard of the church of St Andrew, opposite the entrance to the Archbishop's Palace. Near the base of the column is a cusped niche with crocketed finials, containing a carved stone statuette of St George and the Dragon. The plinth bears an inscription on the front face reading: IN MEMORY OF/ (14 NAMES)/ MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE/ THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1919/ LET THESE MEN BE HERE REMEMBERED IN THANKFULNESS & HONOUR. The inscription on the west face reads: (10 NAMES)/ WHO ALSO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE/ RENEWED FIGHT FOR FREEDOM/ 1939-1945. The names and the last part of the inscription were added after the Second World War. On the east face an inscription reads: WE PRAY THEE HELP THY/ SERVANTS WHOM THOU/ HAST REDEEMED WITH/ THY PRECIOUS BLOOD. The Memorial was unveiled by the Archbishop of York on 22nd May 1921. Walter Brierley was a well known architect in a York firm and a number of his buildings are designated including several schools and County Hall at Northallerton. In 1921 he was nearing the end of his life. Rutherford was also a local architect, though not a partner in the Brierley firm. Bishopthorpe War Memorial is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It forms a poignant reminder of the effects of tragic world events on this local community * It is a well designed monument by a well known architect, Walter Brierley * It is made of high quality materials, executed with excellent craftsmanship * It has group value with the adjacent church, Archbishop's Palace and other designated buildings * Its proximity to and historic association with the Archbishop of York's Palace gives it added significance.