Potter Heigham War Memorial

Summary

First World War memorial, erected in 1919, with Second World War additions.

Reasons for Designation

Potter Heigham War Memorial, erected 1919, with Second World War additions, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as an accomplished and well-realised war memorial which takes the form of a Latin cross atop a trapezoidal plinth.

Group value:

* with the neighbouring Church of St Nicholas (listed Grade I) and the churchyard boundary wall (listed 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 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 in 1919 in the churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas, Potter Heigham, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by seven local servicemen, along with a further serviceman who accidentally drowned when on leave.

After the Second World War the names of three local servicemen killed in that conflict were added to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, erected in 1919, with Second World War additions.

MATERIALS: of rock-faced granite.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial stands in the churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas (listed Grade I), on the west side of the path leading to the church’s south porch. It comprises a rock-faced Latin cross standing on a trapezoidal plinth. This has polished surfaces on three of its four sides for leaded inscriptions. A single-step base supports the plinth, and the whole structure stands on a concrete foundation.

The First World War dedicatory inscription is in leaded letters on the east side of the plinth and base and reads ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD / THE GIVER OF VICTORY / THIS CROSS WAS ERECTED AD1919 / IN SACRED MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE / GREAT WAR / AND WHOSE NAMES ARE HEREON INSCRIBED / AND IN HONOUR OF / ALL WHO SERVED IN THE FORCES / ON LAND OR SEA / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE’.

The south side of the plinth is inscribed ‘1914 – 1918’ along with the names of the seven local service men who died during the First World War, along with a serviceman who accidentally drowned when on leave.

On the north side of the plinth is the inscription ‘1939 – 1945 / WORLD WAR’ and the names of the three local men who died during that conflict.

Sources

Websites
Information on Potter Heigham War Memorial from the Imperial War Museum’s War Memorials Register, accessed 17 January 2018 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/56342
Information on Potter Heigham War Memorial from the Roll of Honour website, accessed 17 January 2018 from http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/PotterHeigham.html

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