Roche War Memorial
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1453476
- Date first listed:
- 05-Feb-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Roche War Memorial
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1453476
- Date first listed:
- 05-Feb-2018
- List Entry Name:
- Roche War Memorial
- Location Description:
- Opposite Church of St Gomonda, Roche, Cornwall
NGR: SW9883659787
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
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Roche
- National Grid Reference:
- SW9883659787
Summary
First World War memorial with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Roche 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial, which takes the form of a granite cross on a tapered shaft with stepped base and railed enclosure.
Group value:
* with the Church of St Gomonda (Grade II*).
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 the country. 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.
The war memorial at Roche appears to date from around 1920, with additions and alterations made after 1945.
Details
A village war memorial of about 1920 with additions and alterations made after 1945.
The memorial is set on the south-eastern corner of a staggered cross roads at the heart of the village and opposite the church of St Gomonda (Grade II).
DESCRIPTION: of rock-hewn granite with inset metal lettering. The memorial is a cross with wheel head, a tapered shaft and base and a platform of two steps.
Both the wheel head and tapered shaft have panels of Celtic ornament in relief, with a circular boss at the centre of the head. The tapered base is inscribed 'TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN GRATEFUL MEMORY / OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO / LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 - 1918'. Names of the Fallen are recorded on the sides of the base. Below this, the top step of the plinth is inscribed '1938 - 1945' with the names of the dead below, including a later addition given on the lower step.
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, 27 February 2018.
Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museum monuments website, accessed 22/12/2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/9301
War Memorials Online, accessed 27 February 2018 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/256316
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 18-Jun-2026 at 11:19:59.
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.