Benwick War Memorial
Corner of High Street and Lilyholt Road, Benwick, PE15 0XA
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1433569
- Date first listed:
- 24-Mar-2016
- Statutory Address:
- Corner of High Street and Lilyholt Road, Benwick, PE15 0XA
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed building
- List Entry Number:
- 1433569
- Date first listed:
- 24-Mar-2016
- Statutory Address 1:
- Corner of High Street and Lilyholt Road, Benwick, PE15 0XA
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Corner of High Street and Lilyholt Road, Benwick, PE15 0XA
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Cambridgeshire
- District:
- Fenland (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Benwick
- National Grid Reference:
- TL3423990252
Summary
First World War Memorial,1921, with later additions for the Second World War.
Reasons for Designation
Benwick War Memorial, unveiled in 1921, is listed for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design interest: the use of contrasting granite, and the solid, well proportioned sequence of cuboid shapes topped by a starkly unadorned cross, make the war a striking presence at the centre of the village.
History
Benwick War Memorial, designed by the architect W Sadler and sculpted by Messrs P Whitehead, was unveiled on 10 June 1921. Details of the memorial were published in the Cambridge Times the following week, on the 17 June. The criterion applied to the selection of names for inclusion on the memorial was that they should have attended Benwick day school. The memorial was refurbished in 2006 and the names repainted.
Details
Benwick War Memorial is sited at the corner of the High Street and Lilyholt Road towards the centre of the village. The memorial is constructed of granite and consists of a Latin cross on a two stepped base set on a two tier plinth: the lower tier of the plinth is a square block with a chamfered upper edge, the upper tier tall and square sectioned. There are contrasting pink granite plaques attached to the west, north and south faces of the upper tier: these contain, in black lettering, the names of the 44 men who died in the First World War. There is also a plaque attached to the west face of the lower tier which carries this inscription: THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919 HE GIVETH HIS BELOVED SLEEP. Carved into the south face are the dates of the Second World War, 1939-1945, below which is a single name. The plinth stands on a two stepped base. The iron railings which surround the memorial are not original and are not included in the listing.
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 9 June 2025 to amend the description.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 16th Feb 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/3476
Roll of Honour Cambridgeshire, accessed 16th Feb 2016 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Cambridgeshire/Benwick.html
War Memorials Online, accessed 13 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/142245
Legal
The listed building is shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map: a cross on a squared plinth and two stepped base) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 07:27:47.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.