Burnopfield War Memorial

Junction of Front Street and New Road, Burnopfield, County Durham, NE16 6NB

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Overview

First World War memorial, 1921, with later additions for the Second World War.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1433856
Date first listed:
18-Apr-2016
List Entry Name:
Burnopfield War Memorial
Statutory Address:
Junction of Front Street and New Road, Burnopfield, County Durham, NE16 6NB

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1433856
Date first listed:
18-Apr-2016
List Entry Name:
Burnopfield War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:
Junction of Front Street and New Road, Burnopfield, County Durham, NE16 6NB

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Junction of Front Street and New Road, Burnopfield, County Durham, NE16 6NB

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:
County Durham (Unitary Authority)
Parish:
Non Civil Parish
National Grid Reference:
NZ1773156858

Summary

First World War memorial, 1921, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Burnopfield War Memorial, which stands at the junction of Front Street and New Road, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a tall and well-proportioned obelisk in the Classical style.

History

Burnopfield War Memorial, made by W Ayton and Sons of Blackhill, was unveiled on 29 January 1921 by Major Shiel DSO and dedicated by Reverend J Madill. It commemorates 133 local servicemen who died in the First World War. The funds were raised by public subscription whilst the land was given by the Watson family of Burnopfield House. The War Memorial Committee was also able to gift an ambulance to the Burnopfield Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade, in memory of those who had died. The total cost of the obelisk and ambulance was £1,600. Following the Second World War the details of those who fell in that conflict were added.

W Ayton and Sons were also responsible for war memorials in the region including those at Greencroft (Grade II-listed), Iveston and Shotley Bridge.

Details

The memorial stands in a small garden at the junction of Front Street and New Road. It comprises a tall polished granite obelisk, square on plan, rising from the pedimented top of a tapering plinth. The plinth has a four-stage base and is enclosed by a low stone kerb. The kerb used to include a chain suspended from low pillars. Wreaths are carved in low relief in each face of the plinth’s pediment.

The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the plinth reads IN THANKFUL RECOGNITION OF/ THE MEN WHO GAVE THEIR SERVICES/ AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN/ THE GREAT WAR (NAMES)/ GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAT THIS/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR/ HIS FRIENDS/ ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF/ BURNOPFIELD AND DISTRICT. Below this the dates 1914 – 1918 are carved in low relief. The remaining commemorated names are inscribed on the other faces of the plinth; all the inscriptions are gilded.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 7 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorials Project - Burnopfield, accessed 25/02/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=6490
War Memorials Register, accessed 25/02/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/41746
War Memorials Online, accessed 7 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/231041

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Burnopfield War Memorial

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 25-Jun-2026 at 15:35:41.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

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.

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