Grid Ref: NY40910 56842 Postcode CA3 9AA
After restoration
This impressive monument commemorates the Fallen of the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. The insignia on the front are those of the Royal Navy, the Army, the Royal Air Force, and the medical services. The insignia on the back are those of the Cumberland Artillery, the Border Regiment, and the Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry. Its panels now refer to the fallen of both the First and Second World Wars.
It was dedicated on 25th May 1922, and unveiled by the Earl of Lonsdale. Schools and workplaces released pupils and employees to enable them to attend. It is believed the dedication ceremony was attended by 25,000 people.
The structure is of local Pink Shap Granite and was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer. It is 40 feet high and was constructed at a cost £5,000.
The parkland in which it stands was the initiative of the Carlisle Citizen’s League, a charitable organisation founded in 1914 by the then acting Mayor of Carlisle, Sir Benjamin Scott. The League (which provided considerable aid to ex-service personnel) raised, through public subscription, the sum of £11,500, sufficient to purchase the area now known as Rickerby Park.
When a decision was made to erect a memorial to those of the two counties of Cumberland and Westmorland who had made the Supreme Sacrifice in The Great War this site, in Rickerby Park, was chosen.
The result was the imposing Cenotaph, the Empty Tomb you see here. This was the focus of the annual 11am Act of Remembrance until the City Centre Cenotaph in the Greenmarket was dedicated in 1990. For some years the commemoration at the more accessible City memorial drew attention away from this.
However in recent times the local branch of The Royal British Legion has, on each Remembrance Sunday, hosted an afternoon Act of Commemoration here, with greater and greater numbers attending each year.
The Park also has a Memorial Bridge and a Memorial Garden, both just a short walk from the Cenotaph. The bridge provides a pedestrian and cycle link to the east of the city. It has an impressive single span of 200 feet and was constructed in 1922 by local craftsmen from around 100 tons of steel. It crosses where the rivers Petteril and Eden converge. It was dedicated at the same time as the Cenotaph.
The Memorial Bridge
The Garden, Memorial 12 in this series, is laid out to a formal design and with a dedication to the Fallen. It is actually an entrance to the Park from the northern end of the Eden Bridge. The Garden was also provided through the efforts of the Carlisle Citizen’s League.
"Think well of us, oh land for which we fell. May all that's well with Britain still go well. Keep her bright banners free from spot or stain. Lest we should dream that we may die in vain"!
ACCESS Rickerby Park is a public facility open to the public at all times. The War memorial is fenced and gated. Access can be obtained by advance arrangements with the Green Spaces Deprtment at Carlisle City Council (01228-817000)
