Gunthorpe War Memorial

St Mary's Churchyard, Bale Road, Gunthorpe, Norfolk, NR2 2PD

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

Overview

First World War memorial. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1449622
Date first listed:: 06-Nov-2017
List Entry Name:: Gunthorpe War Memorial
Statutory Address:: St Mary's Churchyard, Bale Road, Gunthorpe, Norfolk, NR2 2PD

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:: 1449622
Date first listed:: 06-Nov-2017
List Entry Name:: Gunthorpe War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: St Mary's Churchyard, Bale Road, Gunthorpe, Norfolk, NR2 2PD

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 Mary's Churchyard, Bale Road, Gunthorpe, Norfolk, NR2 2PD

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

County:: Norfolk
District:: North Norfolk (District Authority)
Parish:: Gunthorpe
National Grid Reference:: TG0118435209

Summary

First World War memorial.

Reasons for Designation

Gunthorpe war memorial, which is situated in St Mary’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 during the First World War.

Architectural interest:

* A well-executed Celtic wheel-head cross memorial with finely carved knot work designs to the cross head.

* Group value: with the Grade II* listed Church of St Mary.

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 which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

One such memorial was raised at Gunthorpe as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

Like many Norfolk war memorials, the example at Gunthorpe was placed within the parish churchyard. It was presumably erected not long after the end of the First World War and commemorates nine local men who died in service during that conflict.

Details

First World War memorial.

MATERIALS: grey granite cross.

DESCRIPTION: Gunthorpe war memorial is located in the churchyard to the south-west of the Church of St Mary (Grade II* listed), adjacent to the entrance to the churchyard.

It takes the form of a Celtic wheel-head cross with knot work designs carved in relief to the cross-head; the centre of the cross-head is diamond-shaped and has the monogram HIS carved in relief. The cross has a tall, tapering shaft, which is inset to the front (east) face and has Celtic knot work carved in relief near the base. The shaft rises from a tapering, rough-hewn plinth with a smooth front (east) face carrying the inscription.

INSCRIPTION: the inscription is in raised, leaded lettering and reads: FOR GOD/ FOR KING AND COUNTRY/ IN GLORIOUS MEMORY OF/ (9 NAMES)/ WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE/ GREAT WAR 1914 - 1918/ R.I.P./ “THESE DIED IN WAR THAT WE AT PEACE MIGHT LIVE/ THESE GAVE THEIR BEST, SO WE OUR BEST SHOULD GIVE/ NOT FOR THEMSELVES, FOR JUSTICE, FREEDOM, RIGHT/ THEY FOUGHT, AND BID US FORWARD TO THE FIGHT”

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: The memorial stands within a small, square area of gravel bounded by granite kerbs.

Sources

Websites
Imperial War Museums Register, accessed 02 August 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/20053
War Memorials Online, accessed 02 August 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/164952/

Legal

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