Great Braxted and Wickham Bishops War Memorial
Junction of Beacon Hill and Kelvedon Road, Wickham Bishops, Essex, CM8 3HW
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1450649
- Date first listed:
- 10-Nov-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Great Braxted and Wickham Bishops War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Junction of Beacon Hill and Kelvedon Road, Wickham Bishops, Essex, CM8 3HW
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1450649
- Date first listed:
- 10-Nov-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Great Braxted and Wickham Bishops War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Junction of Beacon Hill and Kelvedon Road, Wickham Bishops, Essex, CM8 3HW
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:
- Junction of Beacon Hill and Kelvedon Road, Wickham Bishops, Essex, CM8 3HW
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Essex
- District:
- Maldon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Little Braxted
- National Grid Reference:
- TL8499112691
Summary
Stone pillar with cross war memorial.
Reasons for Designation
Great Braxted and Wickham Bishops War Memorial 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 sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: as a dignified and imposing stone war memorial with orb and cross.
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 between Great Braxted and Wickham Bishops as a permanent testament to the sacrifices made by the members of both these local communities. The memorial was unveiled on 26 March 1921 by Lt Col T Gibbons, DSO and commander of the 5th Battalion Essex Regiment. It was given to the parish by Mr and Mrs Wilson of Heath House, Little Braxted, the parents of Charles Oscar Wilson who is commemorated on the memorial. Further inscriptions were added at some point after the Second World War to honour the Fallen of that conflict. In 2001 the memorial was restored and the names re-engraved at a cost of £200, funded by the local council and the War Memorials Trust; a rededication ceremony was held on 26th March 2002.
Details
Tall hexagonal stone pillar, topped by a orb and incised cross. This stands atop a three-step hexagonal plinth; the top two steps each bear inscriptions in black lettering. They read - left (upper): TO THE HONOUR OF / THE MEN OF GT. BRAXTED / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR KING AND COUNTRY.; left (lower): (names); top (upper): TO THE MEMORY OF OUR SON / CHARLES OSCAR WILSON / LIEUT. 5TH. BATT. ESSEX REGT. / KILLED IN ACTION BEFORE GAZA. / PALESTINE ON THE EVENING OF / MARCH 26TH 1917. AGE 23.; top (lower): GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS / THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR / HIS FRIENDS ST JOHN CH15 V13; right, front (upper): TO THE HONOUR OF / THE MEN OF WICKHAM BISHOPS / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR KING AND COUNTRY / (names); right, front (lower): (names); right, back (upper): TO THE / MEMORY OF THE MEN / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE WAR OF / 1939 - 1945; right, back (lower): (names).
Sources
Websites
IWM - Parishes Of Great Braxted And Wickham Bishops, accessed 14/09/2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/45766
Waymarking - Combined War Memorial, Wickham Bishops, Essex, accessed 14/09/2017 from http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEYMM_Combined_War_Memorial_Wickham_Bishops_Essex
WMO - Wickam Bishops, Great Braxted, accessed 14/09/2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/79125/
WMO - Grant scheme: Wickam Bishops, Great Braxted and Little Braxted, accessed 28/09/2017 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=297
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 16-Jun-2026 at 22:39:33.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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