Steeple Bumpstead War Memorial

Church Street, Steeple Bumpstead, Braintree

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

Overview

A First World War memorial, unveiled in December 1920, with a later addition for the Second World War. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1452736
Date first listed:: 17-Jan-2018
List Entry Name:: Steeple Bumpstead War Memorial
Statutory Address:: Church Street, Steeple Bumpstead, Braintree

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:: 1452736
Date first listed:: 17-Jan-2018
List Entry Name:: Steeple Bumpstead War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:: Church Street, Steeple Bumpstead, Braintree

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:: Church Street, Steeple Bumpstead, Braintree

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

County:: Essex
District:: Braintree (District Authority)
Parish:: Steeple Bumpstead
National Grid Reference:: TL6801441037

Summary

A First World War memorial, unveiled in December 1920, with a later addition for the Second World War.

Reasons for Designation

Steeple Bumpstead 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 this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest: * For its well-executed and sombre design which is fitting for a memorial structure.

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.

One such memorial was erected in Steeple Bumpstead and unveiled on 12 December 1920 by Colonel Joseph Griffiths, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 25 members of the local community who lost their lives in the conflict. The memorial is situated within a recess which was created by rebuilding and realigning a length of the boundary wall to the adjacent property. The wall appears to have been subject to later rebuilding.

Following the Second World War a dedicatory inscription and the names of the 15 local men who died in this conflict were added.

Details

A First World War memorial, unveiled in December 1920, with a later addition for the Second World War.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is prominently situated in the centre of the village, standing opposite the Grade II*-listed Moot Hall. It consists of a granite Latin cross on a square two-stepped granite plinth which rests on a two-stepped limestone base.

INSCRIPTION: the horizontal arms of the cross are incised “LEST WE FORGET”/ 1914 – 1919.

The top section of the plinth reads: IN GRATEFUL MEMORY/ OF THE MEN OF/ STEEPLE BUMPSTEAD WHO/ FELL IN THE GREAT WAR. The second tier has the names of the Fallen incised on it. An angled stone plaque on the upper step of the base carries the inscription: ALSO OF THE MEN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE WORLD WAR 1939 – 1945 and the names of the Fallen from the Second World War.

Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the boundary wall to the rear and sides of the war memorial and the metal railings to the front are not of special architectural or historic interest and are excluded from the listing.

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 29 January 2018.

Sources

Websites
Steeple Bumpstead War Memorial, accessed 23 November 2017 from www.roll-of-honour.com/Essex/SteepleBumpstead.html
War Memorials Online, accessed 29 January 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/196290
War Memorials Register: Steeple Bumpstead, accessed 23 November 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/22321

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.