Monument to Captain John Francis Egerton

John Francis Egerton (1810–1846) was a younger brother of Sir Philip Grey Egerton, 10th Baronet, owner of the Oulton Estate in Cheshire. He was serving as a Captain in the Bengal Artillery in the First Anglo-Sikh War when he fought in the Battle of Ferozeshah on 21–22 December 1845. After severe fighting, the Sikhs were defeated. When Egerton was reconnoitring on the site of the battle he was injured by two Sikhs who were hiding in the village. He died from his wounds on 23 January 1846 and was buried at Ferozepore. There was a meeting of the subscribers to the Egerton Memorial in May 1846. They had received a letter from Sir Philip suggesting that the memorial could take the form of…

The monument is in Gothic style, and is in the form of an Eleanor cross. It is constructed in yellow sandstone, and consists of an Eleanor cross about 9.6 m high standing on steps 0.8 m high. The cross stands on five square steps, and consists of a square base in two stages, an octagonal turret, and an octagonal spire surmounted by a cross. The lower stage of the base is relatively plain and has diagonal buttresses. On the south face is decoration in diapering above which is a panel carved in relief. The carving is badly weathered and its subject appears to depict a house and classical figures. On the sides of the memorial are blank panels, and on the north face is an inscribed bronze…