In April 2018, our contractor Kevin Spencer performed conservation works to the compass on Station Road, York, near Lendal Bridge. Located in a small park area near the City Walls, it is also known as the ‘Compass Rose’.
The compass had looked faded for sometime. The rose is dated 1946 and has a partial quote from Ezekiel 37.9 ‘COME FROM THE FOUR WINDS O BREATH’. The four winds relate to the 4 cardinal points on the compass.
The full quotation from Ezekiel is “Thou wilt say unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”—Ezekiel 37:9
According to Waymarking.com the quotation refers to the Resurrection and the dating makes it most likely to be a form of war memorial.