Prickwillow War Memorial
Prickwillow War Memorial, Main Street, Prickwillow, Ely, CB7 4UN
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1494959
- Date first listed:
- 09-Mar-2026
- List Entry Name:
- Prickwillow War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Prickwillow War Memorial, Main Street, Prickwillow, Ely, CB7 4UN
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1494959
- Date first listed:
- 09-Mar-2026
- List Entry Name:
- Prickwillow War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Prickwillow War Memorial, Main Street, Prickwillow, Ely, CB7 4UN
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:
- Prickwillow War Memorial, Main Street, Prickwillow, Ely, CB7 4UN
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Cambridgeshire
- District:
- East Cambridgeshire (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Ely
- National Grid Reference:
- TL5971882457
Summary
A war memorial built in the 1960s to remember those that died in the First and Second World Wars.
Reasons for Designation
Prickwillow 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 sacrific it made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* for its cenotaph form, realised in high quality Portand stone.
History
The aftermath of the First World War that 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.
The Prickwillow war memorial was erected following the Second World War, possibly in conjunction with the construction of the first Village Hall in 1965. Its first recorded position was between the hall and Main Street. In 1994 the old hall was demolished and replaced. It appears that the memorial was relocated at that time to its present position on a small green south of Main Street, close to the 1962 Prickwillow Bridge.
The monument honours those 'Men of Prickwillow and District' who died in the First and Second World Wars.
In 2020 the memorial was temporarily removed to undergo conservation work. Two further names of the fallen were added to the monument prior to its return the same year.
In 2025 an additional plaque was laid at the base of the memorial in memory of two young girls and a USAAF airman who died when an aircraft crashed into a home in the village.
Details
A war memorial built in the 1960s to remember those that died in the First and Second World Wars.
MATERIALS: The monument is made of Portland stone and the additional slab is made of slate.
DESCRIPTION: The memorial takes the form of a cenotaph. It stands on a concrete base and a plinth of two steps. It comprises four blocks of Portland stone and is stepped inward at its top. It faces east, with a carved laurel leath above an inscription reading:
"TO HONOUR THE MEN OF PRICKWILLOW / AND DISTRICT WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR FREEDOM IN THE TWO WORLD / WARS 1914-18 1939-45. / GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN TO / LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIEND."
The names of the fallen are recorded on the side of the cenotaph, 1914-1918 on the south and 1939-1945 on the north.
The additional plaque records the names of Josephine Legge aged 19 months and Pamela Turner, 10 years "who tradically died when an aircraft crashed into their home 6th February 1945" and St Edward T. Tijan of the USAAF, a member of the aircrew.
Sources
Websites
Renovation of war memorial, accessed 12/08/2025 from https://www.cityofelycouncil.org.uk/renovation-of-prickwillow-war-memorial/
Addition of plaque, accessed 12/08/2025 from https://www.elystandard.co.uk/news/24925288.prickwillow-plane-crash-victims-commemorated-memorial/
IWM War memorials register, accessed 12/08/2025 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/99041
War Memorials Trust register, accessed 22/12/2025 from www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/260801
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 20-Jul-2026 at 19:26:34.
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.