Rochester War Memorial

Following the end of the Great War in 1918, which cost the lives of enormous numbers of people, many towns, villages and cities looked to commemorate their dead through the building of War Memorials. Some places were lucky and saw everyone return home, these were known as “Thankful Villages”, but most places lost someone.

The small village of Rochester, in Northumberland was one of those unlucky places. On the 3rd December 1921, just over 3 years after the guns fell silent, the Rochester War Memorial was unveiled by Major Clifton Brown, who was the MP of Hexham at the time.

The memorial is a bit more unusual than most we see as it was designed in the Arts and Crafts style and comprises a stone cross on a large square block, which sits on a lower stone plinth, around 2m square in size. Four stone pillars support a pitched roof, covered with stone tiles, which give it an overall height of 7m. A stone cobbled path originally circled the memorial but this has been concreted over now. The memorial is accessed via five stone steps leading from the A68 road which passes directly by it.

The front of the War Memorial has the following inscription;

"TO THE GLORY OF GOD

AND IN PROUD MEMORY

OF THE MEN OF THIS COUNTRY-

SIDE WHO FELL IN THE CAUSE

OF RIGHT AND FREEDOM 1914 - 1918"

This is then followed by the 10 names of the men who died during WWI

One of the sides of the Memorial has the following inscription;

"ALSO IN GRATITUDE FOR

SERVICE RENDERED IN

THE SAME CAUSE BY"

Which is then followed on the remaining sides, by the 43 names of those who served and returned.

The Rochester War Memorial was designed by a Mr Weightman, built by Messrs Muckle of Rothbury and the detail was carved by a Walter Wilson of Gateshead. Like many War Memorials it is a listed building, Grade II in this case, on the National Heritage List for England.