Summary

First World War memorial unveiled on 19 December 1920 with Second World War additions.

Description

MATERIALS: grey Aberdeen granite.

DESCRIPTION: Caston War Memorial is located towards the northern part of a green at the centre of the village, at the junction of The Street and Stow Bedon Road, Caston, Norfolk. It comprises a stylised Celtic wheel-headed cross with knot-work relief carvings set upon a tapering shaft and a tapering four-sided plinth bearing inscriptions, atop a two-stepped base. The granite memorial is set upon a wider two-stepped base of concrete. Four moulded four-sided posts stand at the corners of the lowest and outermost step of the concrete base.

The inscription is carved in relief and reads: AUG. 4TH 1914 - NOV. 11TH 1918/ TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ (NAMES)// 1939 – 1945/ (NAMES).

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, 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.

Caston’s war memorial stands on the village green. It was unveiled on 19 December 1920 by Colonel A W Sheringham, of Flaxmoor, following a service led by the Reverend E C W Partridge (rector) and the Reverend P R Webb (Primitive Methodist Minister). The memorial commemorates 15 local servicemen who fell in the First World War and three men who fell in the Second World War.

Reasons for Listing

Caston War Memorial, which is situated on the Village Green at the junction of The Street and Stow Bedon Road, 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 sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: as a slightly stylised take on a traditional wheel-head cross, well-executed in Aberdeen granite;
* Group value: with the Scheduled Monument and Grade II-listed Village Cross, the Grade I-listed Church of Holy Cross, the Grade II-listed Red Lion Public House, Grade II-listed The Old House, and the Grade II-listed Church Farmhouse.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478470

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

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Old House Care and Repair
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  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
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  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)