Brancaster War Memorial
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1424149
- Date first listed:
- 12-Feb-2015
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1424149
- Date first listed:
- 12-Feb-2015
- Location Description:
- The churchyard of the church of St Mary, Brancaster, Norfolk, PE31 8AU
Location
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Norfolk
- District:
- King's Lynn and West Norfolk (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Brancaster
- National Grid Reference:
- TF7721443879
Summary
War memorial, erected c.1920, with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Brancaster’s War Memorial, in the south-west corner of St Mary’s churchyard, is listed at Grade II for the following reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: a modest yet well executed memorial;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed church of St Mary.
History
The memorial was presumably erected c.1920, when the majority of the country’s war memorials were commissioned. The names of six further parishioners who died in the Second World War were added later. Unusually, an airman who died during the Berlin Airlift (1948-9) is also commemorated on the memorial.
Details
The memorial stands on the north side of the main road through Brancaster, in the south-west corner of the churchyard of the Grade I-listed St Mary’s church. It takes the form of a roughly-dressed 3m tall granite Celtic cross, with a wheel-cross head set on a tapering shaft. An inverted sword in relief runs down the upper part of the memorial. The shaft is set on a tapering plinth, with a smooth-dressed front face which carries the inscription ERECTED TO THE MEMORY/ OF BRANCASTER MEN/ WHO FELL IN THE WAR/ 1914 – 1919 (31 NAMES)/ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE.
The plinth base has been adapted to allow a further inscription 1939-1945 (6 NAMES) and 1949/ BERLIN AIR LIFT (1 NAME).
The churchyard wall has been replaced at its corner (to allow the memorial to be seen) by iron railings on a stone kerb which runs between two squat brick piers. This arrangement is contemporary with the memorial.
This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 23 January 2017.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 23 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/19616
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/163983
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Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 20:34:40.
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