Listed Building: COPLESTONE MEMORIAL OVERLEIGH NEW CEMETERY (1350324)

1932-1/0/10007 HANDBRIDGE 05-AUG-02 Coplestone Memorial, Overleigh New Cem etery II* Memorial to Frederick Coplestone. Headstone of Portland stone, 1934, by Eric Gill. Arched upper section with high relief carving of St Francis and the birds; plain raised border. Lower section with inscription panel, with shield, set between pilasters; raised base. HISTORY: this memorial commemorates Frederick Coplestone CBE, JP (d.1932), a newspaper proprietor, and his son, the submariner Lieutenant-Commander Frederick Lewis Coplestone RN (d. 1914), and his son-in-law Commander A.F. Coplestone-Boughey RN (d.1916 at Jutland). It is a notable work of Eric Gill, displaying his distinctive sculptural style; Gill was a Catholic, and the Franciscan imagery is in keeping with his intense religious views. Fine cemetery monuments of this period are few indeed: this is an outstanding memorial, by the foremost carver of his day. SOURCES: Chester Chronicle, 15th December 1934; David Peace, 'Eric Gill: The Inscriptions' (1994), 143.