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The Butte De Warlencourt Battlefield Crosses

@ Durham Cathedral

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Following the Battle of the Somme, three battlefield crosses were erected on top of a chalk hill called the Butte de Warlencourt. They were made in memory of the soldiers of the 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions Durham Light Infantry who had died there in November 1916.

Today, one of these crosses is housed in the DLI Chapel at Durham Cathedral, with the others at the parish churches of St Andrew in Bishop Auckland and St Mary and St Cuthbert in Chester-le-Street.

As part of the Cathedral’s First World War commemorations, and with a particular focus on the centenary of the Somme, this display reunites the three crosses to form a poignant and powerful witness.

The exhibition of the three crosses and associated learning programme has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, who granted £9,900 to the Cathedral.

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