Summary

First World War memorial, c.1920, with Second World War additions.

Description

MATERIALS: granite.

DESCRIPTION: East Ruston War Memorial is located in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, off the B1159, near the junction with Pound Road and Vicarage Road, East Ruston. It is prominently situated just inside the churchyard entrance, a little way along the main path to the church. The memorial comprises a polished wheel-head cross on a tapering, four-sided plinth with two-stepped base. The plinth bears the inscriptions in leaded lettering.

The inscription is in leaded lettering and reads: TO THE/ GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF EAST RUSTON/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE/ GREAT WAR 1914 – 1918// (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.

One such war memorial was raised at East Ruston as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

East Ruston memorial, like many Norfolk war memorials, was situated within the churchyard. The memorial was presumably erected c.1920. It commemorates 19 local servicemen who fell in the First World War and three men who fell in the Second World War.

Reasons for Listing

East Ruston War Memorial, which is situated in St Mary’s 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 the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: a simple but well-executed granite cross;
* Group value: with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Mary.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q66478493

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

• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)