Summary
First World War memorial, erected around 1920, with Second World War and Korean War additions.
Reasons for Designation
Salthouse War Memorial, which is situated in St Nicholas' 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 this local community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as a well-executed limestone cross with unusual pentagonal base.
Group value:
* with the Grade I-listed Church of St Nicholas and the Grade II-listed Ruins of Chapel in north-west corner of churchyard of Church of St Nicholas.
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 Salthouse as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
Salthouse War Memorial, like many Norfolk war memorials, was situated within the churchyard. The memorial was presumably erected around 1920. The memorial commemorates 13 local servicemen who fell in the First World War, two men who fell in the Second World War, and one who fell in the Korean War.
Originally, the inscriptions were carved in relief, and subsequent names carved to match. In 1998, however, degradation of the lettering caused by sea salt, wind and frost, caused the inscriptions to become difficult to read, and War Memorials Trust gave a grant of £200 to help the parish replace the plinth in Clipsham stone, with incised lettering, and by so doing to allow the later names to be incorporated onto the plinth. The original extra “steps” with the Second World War and Korean War names were retained and placed in the church porch.
The original inscriptions read
TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF SALTHOUSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ DURING THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918/ THEIR NAMES LIVETH EVERMORE// (NAMES)// AND TO THOSE WHO DIED/ 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES)/ KOREAN WAR/ 1952/ (NAME).
The inscriptions that were amended in 1998 read
TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF SALTHOUSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ DURING TWO WORLD WARS/ AND IN KOREA/ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE// 1914 – 1918/ (NAMES)// 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES)/ KOREA 1950 – 53/ (NAME).
Details
First World War memorial, erected around 1920, with Second World War and Korean War additions.
MATERIALS: limestone.
DESCRIPTION: Salthouse War Memorial is located in the churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas, Cross Street, Salthouse, Norfolk. It is prominently situated in the churchyard on the approach to the church porch and on a hillside overlooking the settlement. It comprises an 3m tall Latin cross on a collared shaft and a square plinth, atop a pentagonal two-tiered base, the lower tier being deep with cornice and moulded foot. The plinth bears the inscriptions in incised lettering.
The inscription is incised and reads TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF SALTHOUSE/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ DURING TWO WORLD WARS/ AND IN KOREA/ THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR/ EVERMORE// 1914 – 1918/ (NAMES)// 1914 – 1918 (NAMES)// 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES)/ KOREA 1950 – 53/ (NAME).
