Matfen War Memorial

c90m north of Holy Trinity Church, Village Green, Matfen, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, NE20 0RP

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1438933
Date first listed:: 17-Oct-2016
List Entry Name:: Matfen War Memorial
Statutory Address:: c90m north of Holy Trinity Church, Village Green, Matfen, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, NE20 0RP

User submitted image — Uploaded by Steve Ellwood This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1438933
Date first listed:: 17-Oct-2016
List Entry Name:: Matfen War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: c90m north of Holy Trinity Church, Village Green, Matfen, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, NE20 0RP

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

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

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:: c90m north of Holy Trinity Church, Village Green, Matfen, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, NE20 0RP

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

District:: Northumberland (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Matfen
National Grid Reference:: NZ0308671842

Summary

First World War memorial, 1920, with later additions for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Matfen War Memorial, which stands on the village green, 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20; * Architectural interest: an elegant cross decorated with carved interlace patterns, in the Celtic style; * Groups value: with numerous Grade II-listed buildings around the village green.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also the official policy of not repatriating the dead: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at Matfen as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial cross was unveiled on 1 May 1920 by Lt-Col Sir Percy Wilkinson and dedicated by the vicar, Reverend H Doudney. Made by William Cresswell of Hexham, the memorial commemorates 22 local servicemen who died in the First World War. Following the Second World War a further three names of men who died in that conflict were added.

William Creswell of Hexham, stone mason, was also responsible for the freestanding war memorial at Hexham (Grade II-listed), and for war memorials in the village hall, Langley-on-Tyne, and in St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Hexham.

Details

The memorial stands at the east end of the village green in an enclosed area, in close proximity to a number of Grade II-listed buildings, including the C19 drinking fountain and the Church of the Holy Trinity. It takes the form of a tall Celtic cross. The front face of the wheel-head is ornamented with interlace patterns carved in relief and a central hemispherical boss. The tapering cross shaft rises from a small pedestal, rectangular on plan, that stands on a three-stepped base.

The principal dedicatory inscription on the front face of the pedestal reads: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN/ OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR/ KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ (4 NAMES). The remaining names are inscribed on the two side faces of the pedestal.

To the rear, the Second World War dedication reads: GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS/ THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE/ FOR HIS FRIENDS./ 1939 – 1945./ (3 NAMES).

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, 9 February 2017.

Sources

Websites
North East War Memorials Project, accessed 19/08/2016 from http://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=7983
War Memorials Online, accessed 9 February 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/239459
War Memorials Register, accessed 9 February 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/34050

Legal

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

The listed building(s) is/are 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) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.