Memorials to honour Biddulph’s fallen to be protected

war memorial reducedBiddulph’s two War Memorials have been given Grade II listed status by   Historic England as part of a five-year project to add 2,500 war memorials to the protected list.

The memorials are located at the junction of John Street and Congleton Road, and in the grounds of St Lawrence’s Church.

War memorials provide us with an enduring link to those hundreds of thousands who gave their lives in the First World War and later conflicts. The town centre memorial is the focus for Biddulph on Remembrance Sunday where the parade stops and wreaths are laid to honour the dead. It was the second memorial dedicated to the fallen of the First World War to be erected in Biddulph. The first memorial was built in the parish churchyard of St Lawrence’s Church in June 1921 with the names of 70 local men who lost their lives with three others added later.

Originally 73 names were listed on the town centre memorial in dedication to those who died in service during the First World War. Subsequently a further nine names have been added relating to that conflict, as well as the names of those who died in the Second World War and later conflicts.

Listed buildings are considered nationally important and therefore have extra legal protection within the planning system. A building is listed when it is of special architectural or historic interest considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting. As the term implies, a listed building is actually added to a list: the National Heritage List for England.

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