A unique Regimental War Memorial

CRICH, DERBYSHIRE

Registered Charity No 1053684

 EARLY YEARS ON THE HILL

The summit of Crich Stand shows evidence of lead mining from Roman times and  is reputed to have been the site of a Beacon Fire which signalled the sighting of the Spanish Armada in 1588. A new Beacon was erected in 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee by Crich Parish council.  The first record of any construction on the hill is found in the reign of George III (1760—1820) when it is known that a wooden tower was erected to mark his accession and in 1788 a conical limestone tower with a wooden platform attached, replaced it.  By 1843 the conical tower was in a state of disrepair and in 1849 it was taken down. Many of the stones which had been set in the 1788 tower were saved when it was pulled down and these stones or blocks were used in the base of a new grit stone tower which was completed in the year of the Great Exhibition, 1851.  It had a stone stairway winding up the inside and an engraved tablet set in the wall at the top stated it was 955 feet above sea level.

 In June 1882 as a result of subsidence, landslides due to quarrying and damage caused by lightning, the tower was closed for safety reasons.  In 1914 the land was sold with a condition that the tower be rebuilt close by. However, the Great War of 1914-18 intervened and it was not until 1922 that the owners of the land gifted the site to the War Memorial Committee.

In 1921 it was decided that some lasting memorial should be erected to the memory of the 11,409 men of the Sherwood Foresters who had lost their lives in the Great War and on Monday 6th August 1923 the new  Lanterne des Mortes Memorial Tower was dedicated. Set in the top of the Tower was a light which shone each night in memory of the men of the Regiment who gave their lives and continues to shine to the present day.

In 1939, Britain once again was at War and as before, the Sherwood Foresters quickly found themselves on active service. Men from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire were once again called upon to join their County Regiment.  

In 1952,  the Memorial was re-dedicated to the memory of  the 1,520 Sherwood Foresters who had died in this conflict.

In 1970, the Sherwood Foresters amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to become The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and in 1991 two bronze plaques positioned on either side of the Memorial doorway were dedicated to the memory of those Sherwood Foresters who gave their lives for their country from 1945-1970 and to the memory of those of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment who have given their lives in the service of their country since the formation of the Regiment in 1970.

DERBYSHIRE WILDLIFE SITE

The Crich Memorial Site is one of the few remaining examples of unimproved and semi improved calcareous grassland found within the Peak Fringe Natural Area of Derbyshire. It was granted Derbyshire Wildlife Site status in 2003.  Calcareous grasslands are unusual in this Natural Area and occur here over a narrow outcrop of limestone.  The following species are of interest in the locality, Salad Burnett, Cowslip, Greater Knapweed, Lady’s Bedstraw, Crested Hair Grass, Quaking Grass and Restharrow of which several are locally rare. 

 Amongst the varied wildlife that can be seen on, or visiting the site, are the Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Redwing, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Yellowhammer, Grass Snake, Rabbit, Weasel, Fox, Badger.

MEMORIALS WITHIN THE GROUNDS

Within the grounds of the tower can be found three Memorials to distinquished members of the regiment