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Chirk War Memorial

Buildings and structures completed in 1920Grade II* listed monuments and memorials in WalesWorld War II memorials in WalesWorld War I memorials in Wales
War Memorial, Chirk (geograph 2343527)
War Memorial, Chirk (geograph 2343527)

Chirk War Memorial is a war memorial in the Welsh town of Chirk, now in Wrexham County Borough (until 1974, Chirk was in the historic county of Denbighshire and then in the county of Clwyd until 1996). The memorial stands on a traffic island at the east end of Station Avenue, at its junction Church Street. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1998. It was commissioned as a First World War memorial by Thomas Scott-Ellis, 8th Baron Howard de Walden, tenant at Chirk Castle, and designed and made by the English sculptor Eric Gill. The memorial was unveiled in October 1920 by Lady Howard de Walden. A further inscription was added after the Second World War. The memorial comprises a tapered square obelisk of Portland stone, standing on a low step which curves out to form a platform. The top of each face of the obelisk is carved into a pointed gable at 45-degree angles, with the ridges of the gables intersecting across the top of the memorial to create cross. The south face has a bas-relief carving of a soldier in profile facing east, in greatcoat and helmet, hunched forward over his rifle and bayonet, above the main inscription which reads: "TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE / HABITANTS AND INDWELLERS / OF THE PARISH OF CHIRK / WHO GAVE UP THEIR LIVES / FOR THE CAUSE of THEIR COUNTRY / DURING THE GREAT WAR OF 1914-1919 / THIS MONUMENT WAS ESTABLI-/SHED BY THEIR FELLOWS / OF THE PARISH / IN RIGHTEOUSNESS". The west and east faces are inscribed with the names of the 66 fallen men of the parish, with 33 forenames and surnames on each side. The Anglican parish church of St Mary nearby also houses a Roll of Honour. The north side bears the inscription in Welsh: "ER / ARDDERCHOG / GOFFA / AM / WYRYWAEN / A ROES EU HEINIOES / YN ACHOS EU GWLAD / YN Y RHYFEL MAWR / 1914-1919 / Y GOSODWYD / Y MAEN HWN / GAN EU / CYD BLWYFOLION" ("In / glorious / commemoration / of / the men of Chirk / who gave their lives / in the cause of their country / in the Great War / 1914-1919 / this stone / was erected / by their / fellow parishioners"). Below this, after the Second World, was added "1939-1945/ IN LOVING MEMORY OF" and another 19 names. Around the base of the obelisk, below the main inscriptions, is a further inscription from the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, verse 11, in larger type, starting at the west face and ending on the north face: "AND / IN RIGHTEOUNESS / HE DOTH JUDGE & / MAKE WAR. REV.XIX""

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Chirk War Memorial (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Chirk War Memorial
Station Avenue,

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N 52.93251264056 ° E -3.0569893553674 °
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Chirk War Memorial

Station Avenue
LL14 5EY , Rhosywaun
Wales, United Kingdom
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War Memorial, Chirk (geograph 2343527)
War Memorial, Chirk (geograph 2343527)
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Waking the Dragon
Waking the Dragon

Waking the Dragon (Welsh: Deffro'r Ddraig) is a proposed bronze sculpture which is intended to be built near Wrexham, North Wales. The original idea, made in 2010, was for a sculpture which would stand 210 feet (64 m) tall, symbolising the heritage and culture of the Welsh people. The project was to be funded through a combination of charitable donations, the purchase of steps within the tower and investor finance. The project was to consist of a 75-foot bronze dragon with a wingspan of approximately 150 feet, standing upon a 135-foot glass and steel tower, which would allow for panoramic views of Wrexham, its surrounding countryside and across the border into England. The project intended to include a 100-seat café/bar, a 125-seat restaurant, an art centre and a gallery next to the tower. The space immediately around the tower was to be used to depict the Four Branches of the Mabinogion, the collection of mythological tales of early Wales.It was originally intended to sit adjacent to the A5 and was hoped to be completed by August 2011. It was subsequently hoped to be completed by the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. In 2013 local businessman Simon Wingett, the originator of the scheme, launched a crowd funding initiative to raise money for the project. The dragon was to be sited on a roundabout at Chirk near Wrexham. Planning permission for the dragon was reinstated in 2016 for a further five years, after the original permission had lapsed. In September 2022, Wingett was ordered by the High Court to pay at least £117,000 to charitable cancer causes due to investing his cancer charity donations for the dragon project rather than to charitable causes since 2011.If completed, it would be the world's second largest statue of a European dragon, after the dragon from Pegasus and Dragon in Hallandale Beach, Florida.