Summary

First World War memorial, 1922, with further names added after the Second World War and later conflicts.

Description

MATERIALS: granite.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial consists of a wheel-head cross on a moulded tapered square plinth, with two shallow steps at the base.

Three sides of the plinth are inscribed in black painted lettering: 1914 – 1918/ (NAMES).

The later names have been added to the plinth by the means of a granite plaque which is inscribed: TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY/ 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES). 1950 – 1953 KOREAN WAR (NAME).

This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Register. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 25 July 2017.

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, 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 at Aylsham in 1922 as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It is thought to have been built by Cornish and Gammer, a firm based in North Walsham, Norfolk.

Following the Second World War, the names of those who lost their lives in that war were also added. One name from the Korean War has also been added.

In 2009 the access to the memorial was improved with the help of grant aid from the War Memorials Trust.

Reasons for Listing

Aylsham 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 this community, and the sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a simple yet dignified granite wheel-head cross;
* Group value: with the Church of St Michael and All Angels (Grade I) and Bracken Cottage (Grade II).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478042

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]