Summary

Northchurch War Memorial, erected in 1920, dedicated to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars; the plinth was replaced in the 1960s, and the former plinth stands around 5m south-west of the memorial.

Description

War memorial, erected in 1920, dedicated to the fallen of the First and Second World Wars; the plinth was replaced in the 1960s, and the former plinth stands around 5m south-west of the memorial.

MATERIALS: both the memorial and detached plinth are crafted from limestone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial comprises a rough-hewn Celtic cross with carved Celtic decoration on the cross itself, mounted on a battered plinth on a single step. The south-west elevation of the plinth (facing High Street) is inscribed: ‘IN MEMORY OF/ ALL THOSE WHO/ HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES/ IN THE SERVICE/ OF THEIR COUNTRY’.

The former plinth, which now stands around 5m south-west of the memorial, inside the boundary wall of the churchyard, has the following leaded lettering on its south-west elevation (facing High Street): ‘TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN/ MEMORY OF/ NORTHCHURCH MEN/ WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ FOR KING AND COUNTRY/ 1914 – 1919’. The names of the First World War fallen are recorded in leaded lettering on the south-east and north-west sides of the plinth. The dates of the Second World War (1939-1945) and the names of the fallen were later added to the north-east elevation of the plinth (facing the church).

History

The aftermath of the First World War 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.

One such memorial was raised in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church in Northchurch as a permanent testament to the sacrifices made by 46 local men who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was unveiled 6 March 1920 in a ceremony attended by Rear Admiral Sir Lionel Halsey, Comptroller and Treasurer to the Prince of Wales, and Rector, Rev RH Pope. Following the Second World War the names of 13 local men who fell in the conflict were added to the memorial. In the 1960s the plinth became unsafe; the cross was re-erected on a new plinth and the former plinth was moved around 5 metres south-west, inside the churchyard wall. There is an additional monument in the church, alongside memorial stones to particular individuals; one of these is for Charles Ross who was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Reasons for Listing

Northchurch War Memorial, erected in 1920, and its nearby former plinth bearing the names of the fallen of the First and Second World Wars, are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on the local community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:

* as a well-executed memorial with finely carved ornamentation.

Group value:

* for the strong group value the war memorial holds with the medieval parish Church of St Mary (Grade I), in the churchyard of which the memorial stands, near the Gravestone of Peter the Wild Boy (Grade II).

Recommended Books

• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6