Summary

First World War memorial with names of those who fell in the Second World War added later.

Description

Situated on the corner of a crossroad, adjacent to the village hall, Naphill War Memorial takes the form of a smooth-sided cairn of local sand stone. It is composed of a number of large stones, the gaps between them filled with smaller stones bedded in with mortar. This stands on a square random-rubble stone dais with a stone plaque on two sides. The plaque to the front bears the inscription:

A STONE/ OF/ REMEMBRANCE/ TO THE/ MEN OF NAPHILL/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR

The second plaque, on the NE side, bears the names of the ten men of Naphill who fell during the war. The names of two men who fell during the Second World War have been added.

The memorial stands on an area of 'crazy' paving - a surface which became popular during the inter-war period - within a small garden of remembrance which is surrounded by low random-rubble stone wall.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 6 June 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 England. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also 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 Naphill, as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The large stones used for the memorial were donated. They came from the clay pits at neighbouring Walters Ash and are a hard white sandstone, known locally as Denner Hill stone after the area in which many of them were found.

Reasons for Listing

Naphill War Memorial, which stands on the east corner of Main Road and Downley Road, Naphill, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reason:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Naphill War Memorial at Wikipedia
• Wikidata IDs Q48807513 Q66478698

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

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)