Muncaster War Memorial

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Muncaster War Memorial is a First World War memorial in the parish of Muncaster on Cumbria’s west coast. It is one of fifteen War Crosses designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the renowned English architect who also created the Cenotaph in Whitehall. The memorial was unveiled in 1922 and is a Grade II listed building. It stands at a junction on the A595 between Barrow-in-Furness and Gosforth, near Ravenglass.

The design features a tapering Lakeland granite shaft with short arms near the top, set on a rectangular plinth bearing the inscription “TO THE MEN OF MUNCASTER WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR” and a relief laurel wreath—an element not found on any of the other War Crosses. The shaft sits on three shallow steps inside a recess in a stone wall. The names of the World War I dead are carved on wall panels, with World War II names added later.

The memorial was funded and commissioned after the war; Lutyens’ involvement came through Sir John Ramsden of Muncaster Castle. It was unveiled by Mrs. Cowan of Ravenglass, who lost three sons in the conflict, on 24 September 1922. The memorial was designated Grade II on 21 January 1985. In 2015, as part of centenary commemorations, Lutyens’s war memorials were recognised as a national collection and listings were reviewed and updated.