Frettenham War Memorial

St Swithin's churchyard, Church Lane, Frettenham, Norfolk, NR12 7NW

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

Overview

First World War memorial, unveiled 1921, with additions for the Second World War. Stone obelisk on a tapering plinth with three-stepped base. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1443388
Date first listed:: 15-Mar-2017
List Entry Name:: Frettenham War Memorial
Statutory Address:: St Swithin's churchyard, Church Lane, Frettenham, Norfolk, NR12 7NW

User submitted image — Uploaded by War Memorials Online 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:: 1443388
Date first listed:: 15-Mar-2017
List Entry Name:: Frettenham War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: St Swithin's churchyard, Church Lane, Frettenham, Norfolk, NR12 7NW

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:: St Swithin's churchyard, Church Lane, Frettenham, Norfolk, NR12 7NW

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

County:: Norfolk
District:: Broadland (District Authority)
Parish:: Frettenham
National Grid Reference:: TG2447618522

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled 1921, with additions for the Second World War. Stone obelisk on a tapering plinth with three-stepped base.

Reasons for Designation

Frettenham War Memorial, situated in St Swithin’s 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20; * Architectural interest: as a simple but well-executed stone obelisk; * Group value: with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Swithin.

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. 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 Frettenham 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 obelisk was unveiled in January 1921 by Mr John Cator, High Sheriff of Norfolk, and dedicated by the Dean of Norwich. It commemorates ten local servicemen who fell in the First World War and (since the addition of a small metal plaque in c2012) three who fell in the Second World War.

Details

MATERIALS: Stone obelisk.

DESCRIPTION: Frettenham War Memorial stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Swithin's (Grade II*-listed). It is situated at the foot of the church tower, adjacent to the south porch. The memorial comprises a slender stone obelisk, square on plan, on a tapering four-sided plinth with three-stepped base below. The south face of the plinth bears the inscriptions in incised lettering. A small metal plaque repeating the First World War names and recording Second World War names is fixed to the west face of the plinth.

The principal dedicatory inscription reads IN MEMORY/ OF/ OUR BRAVE DEAD/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 - 1918/ (10 NAMES). The later plaque reads 1914 – 1918/ (10 NAMES)/ 1939 – 1945/ (3 NAMES).

Sources

Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 10 January 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/210019/
War Memorials Register, accessed 10 January 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/19662
Other
"Frettenham memorial...", Thetford and Watton Times and People's Weekly Journal, 8 January 1921, p8

Legal

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