A soldier's memorial hidden in Carlisle

Cromwell

 Cromwell Ward’s monument in Carlisle Cathedral

Ward was a career soldier from County Down in Ulster. He ended his life in Carlisle as Governor of the Castle. We don’t know his birth date. His Christian name confirms his religious and political  loyalties. Not surprising then that he was given command of one of the gateways to England.

Only three years before, the Castle had been in the hands of Rebels; Jacobites supporting the claim to the Throne of a Roman Catholic. In the 18C Roman Catholics were treated with as much suspicion as Communists in 1950’s America. A staunch Protestant in control of the Castle that defended the western gateway to England. made eminent sense.

Commissioned

Ward had been commissioned as an Ensign on 28 August 1708. By 1740 he was a Captain in ‘Colonel Richard St. George’s Regiment of Foot’ on the Irish Establishment. Ward married Mary Holland in 1730 at St Mary’s Cathedral Limerick. By July 1745, ‘Colonel St. George’s Regiment of Foot’ had become ‘Major General St. George’s Dragoons’ , who were in England in response to the Jacobite Rebellion.When Regiments ceased to be known by their Colonel’s names they became the 8th Dragoons.

After the rebellion

In 1746 with Carlisle back under Government control Ward was Town Major. Brigadier General James Fleming gave him the job of Barrack Master at the Castle and the responsibility for holding a party of Jacobite prisoners being transferred from Lancaster. Perhaps not surprising then when the Government reorganised commands in Carlisle in 1749, Ward was appointed Lieutenant Governor.

His monument doesn’t record the date of his death. But in the Register for the Limerick Diocese it is recorded as 1756. He left a widow and seven children. And it was his children, as the Monument records, that had the monument erected.

Monument

The monument was first placed on the wall behind the Cathedral’s High Altar, however when some re-arrangements were made c1930 to the East end some of the monuments, including Ward’s, were repositioned in the Triforium for safe keeping. This is an area not open to the public.

A review of all the Cathedral monuments is being undertaken as part of the Church Buildings Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England document called “Contested Heritage in Cathedral and Churches” which was published in 2021.

It notes that while churches and cathedrals are, above all, places dedicated to the worship of God, for a range of reasons, members of communities may not always feel welcome in these buildings. One such reason could be the presence of objects commemorating people responsible for the oppression and marginalisation of others.

The guidance specifically addresses the issue of heritage associated with racism and the slave trade – including plaques, statues, inscriptions and other monuments, but hopes that by doing so it will establish a methodology which can be used for other forms of contested heritage.

Voluntary Task

The Dean and Chapter of Carlisle Cathedral commissioned Charles Proctor who has worked for the Diocese and has been an advisor to the Cathedral for many years until his retirement, to do this task for them. He is doing this in a voluntary roll assisted by the Cathedral Vergers.

Visitors

“This has given us an opportunity to learn about the Men and Women commemorated in the Cathedral, about their lives, working careers, good deeds, death and ultimately the legacy they left to the world, “ said James Armstrong.

He continued, “So far we have been working on this for a year and a half and hope to get a basic copy into the hands of the Cathedral authorities by Easter which will satisfy their brief to us. It is hoped by the authors that the cathedral will use the information gathered to enrich the experience of visitors to the Cathedral.”