Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west
Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west, St Marys Church, High Street, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, HP4 3QN
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1489897
- Date first listed:
- 03-Jun-2024
- List Entry Name:
- Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west
- Statutory Address:
- Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west, St Marys Church, High Street, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, HP4 3QN
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1489897
- Date first listed:
- 03-Jun-2024
- List Entry Name:
- Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west
- Statutory Address 1:
- Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west, St Marys Church, High Street, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, HP4 3QN
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:
- Northchurch War Memorial and former plinth 5m to south-west, St Marys Church, High Street, Northchurch, Berkhamsted, HP4 3QN
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hertfordshire
- District:
- Dacorum (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Northchurch
- National Grid Reference:
- SP9739708805
Summary
Northchurch War Memorial, erected in 1920, dedicated to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars; the plinth was replaced in the 1960s, and the former plinth stands around 5m south-west of the memorial.
Reasons for Designation
Northchurch War Memorial, erected in 1920, and its nearby former plinth bearing the names of the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* as a well-executed memorial with finely carved ornamentation.
Group value:
* for the strong group value the war memorial holds with the medieval parish Church of St Mary (Grade I), in the churchyard of which the memorial stands, near the Gravestone of Peter the Wild Boy (Grade II).
History
The aftermath of the First World War was the great age of memorial building, 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 raised in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church in Northchurch as a permanent testament to the sacrifices made by 46 local men who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled 6 March 1920 in a ceremony attended by Rear Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey, Comptroller and Treasurer to the Prince of Wales, and Rector, Rev RH Pope. Following the Second World War the names of 13 local men who fell in the conflict were added to the memorial. In the 1960s the plinth became unsafe; the cross was re-erected on a new plinth and the former plinth was moved around 5 metres south-west, inside the churchyard wall. There is an additional monument in the church, alongside memorial stones to particular individuals; one of these is for Charles Ross who was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Details
War memorial, erected in 1920, dedicated to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars; the plinth was replaced in the 1960s, and the former plinth stands around 5m south-west of the memorial.
MATERIALS: both the memorial and detached plinth are crafted from limestone.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial comprises a rough-hewn Celtic cross with carved Celtic decoration on the cross itself, mounted on a battered plinth on a single step. The south-west elevation of the plinth (facing High Street) is inscribed: ‘IN MEMORY OF/ ALL THOSE WHO/ HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SERVICE/ OF THEIR COUNTRY’.
The former plinth, which now stands around 5m south-west of the memorial, inside the boundary wall of the churchyard, has the following leaded lettering on its south-west elevation (facing High Street): ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN/ MEMORY OF/ NORTHCHURCH MEN/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR KING AND COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1919’. The names of the First World War fallen are recorded in leaded lettering on the south-east and north-west sides of the plinth. The dates of the Second World War (1939-1945) and the names of the fallen were later added to the north-east elevation of the plinth (facing the church).
Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museums, War Memorial Register, 'Northchurch Cross', accessed 01 March 2024 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/14617
St Mary's Northchurch, 'War Memorial', accessed 01 March 2024 from https://www.stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk/war-memorial
Roll of Honour, 'Northchurch War Memorial', accessed 01 March 2024 from https://www.roll-of-honour.com/Hertfordshire/Northchurch.html
War Memorials Online, Northchurch Cross’, accessed 26 March 2024 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/300109
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 09-Jun-2026 at 23:32:47.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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