Wagoners' Memorial

Wagoners' Memorial in Sledmere is a war memorial in the middle of a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, northern England. A squat stone column carved all the way round, it honours the men of the Waggoners Special Reserve, a unit of horse-wagon drivers raised on the Yorkshire Wolds. It is one of Britain's most unusual First World War monuments and, since 2016, it has held the top Grade I heritage listing.

Who built the Wagoners' Memorial, and why?

Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet, who owned the Sledmere estate, designed it. In 1912 he organised a corps of drivers from farm workers and tenant farmers across the Wolds to handle the horse-drawn wagons that kept supplies moving. Sykes died in February 1919 while attending the Paris Peace Conference, so he never saw the finished work. The memorial went up in 1919–20 and was unveiled on 5 September 1920. The sculptor was Carlo Magnoni.

What will you see?

The monument is low and heavy, with a carved band spiralling up the shaft. That spiral is why people often compare it with Trajan's Column in Rome. The subject is very different, though. Instead of imperial victories, the reliefs show ordinary countrymen: Sykes recruiting them, the call-up, the journey to France, life with the wagons and scenes from the battlefield. Nikolaus Pevsner called it "curiously homely", which suits it well. Walk around the column slowly and read the frieze section by section.

A few steps away stands the Eleanor Cross, a village cross from the 1890s modelled on the one at Hardingstone, which Sykes turned into a memorial for men from his estate. Both were raised to Grade I during Historic England's First World War centenary programme, and two memorials of that rank in a single village was described as unprecedented.

How do you get there, and how long do you need?

Sledmere lies on the B1252 across the Yorkshire Wolds, between Driffield and Malton. The memorial stands on the main street, close to St Mary's Church and the grounds of Sledmere House. Most visitors arrive by car, and there is space to stop nearby. The memorial is in public space, free to see at any time. Twenty to thirty minutes covers the column and the cross; add Sledmere House and the church and you have a half-day outing.

When is the best time to visit?

Go when the light is good. Side sun in the morning or late afternoon makes the carvings easier to read. Spring and summer pair well with walks on the Wolds. Check the Sledmere House website for opening times if you plan to go inside.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an entrance fee? No. The memorial stands in the village and can be viewed at any time.

Whom does it commemorate? Drivers of the Waggoners Special Reserve, recruited from Wolds farms. Sources give different totals, from roughly a thousand to 1,127 men.

Why is it compared to Trajan's Column? Because of the spiral frieze wound around the shaft. Here the heroes are farm wagoners, not an emperor.

What else is nearby? The Eleanor Cross, St Mary's Church and Sledmere House with its parkland.