Besthorpe War Memorial
All Saints Churchyard, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Norfolk, NR17 2LJ
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1442377
- Date first listed:
- 20-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Besthorpe War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- All Saints Churchyard, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Norfolk, NR17 2LJ
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1442377
- Date first listed:
- 20-Feb-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Besthorpe War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- All Saints Churchyard, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Norfolk, NR17 2LJ
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.
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.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- All Saints Churchyard, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Norfolk, NR17 2LJ
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Norfolk
- District:
- Breckland (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Besthorpe
- National Grid Reference:
- TM0654595599
Summary
First World War memorial, circa 1920.
Reasons for Designation
Besthorpe War Memorial, which is situated in All Saints Churchyard, 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 First World War;
* Design: as a simple but well-executed stone wheel head cross;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of All Saints, and the nearby Grade II-listed Besthorpe Hall.
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 England, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
Besthorpe memorial, like many Norfolk war memorials, was situated within the churchyard. The memorial was presumably erected circa 1920. The memorial commemorates 16 local servicemen who fell in the First World War.
Details
Besthorpe War Memorial is located in the churchyard of the Church of All Saints, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Norfolk. It comprises a stone wheel-head cross on a tapering plinth with a two-stepped square-section base. The plinth bears an inscription in incised lettering but this is difficult to read.
The inscription reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE BRAVE MEN OF BESTHORPE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ (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, 23 November 2017.
Sources
Websites
Roll of Honour, accessed 29 November 2016 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/Besthorpe.html
War Memorials Register, accessed 16 June 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/72579
War Memorials Online, accessed 23 November 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/253734
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 21-Jun-2026 at 18:49:40.
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.