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NorwichWarMemorialWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Coordinates:52.628269N1.292567E

NorwichWarMemorial
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

NorwichWarMemorial(alsoknownasNorwich
CenotaphorNorwichCityWarMemorial)isaFirst
WorldWarmemorialintheMarketPlaceinNorwich,
thecountytownofNorfolkinEasternEngland.
Unveiledin1927,itoriginallysatoutsidetheGuildhall,
movedtoitspresentlocationin1938,andwasrotated
duringrestorationworkinthe21stcentury.[1]Itwas
designedbyarchitectSirEdwinLutyens,thelastofhis
eightcenotaphserectedinEngland.PriortoLutyens'
involvement,severalabortiveproposalshadbeenmade
forcommemoratingNorwich'swardeadandby1926
thenewlyelectedlordmayor,CharlesBignold,was
determinedtoseetheconstructionofawarmemorial
beforeheleftoffice.HeestablishedtheJointHospitals
andWarMemorialAppealtoraisefundsforlocal
hospitalsinmemoryofthedeadaswellaphysical
monument,forwhichhecommissionedLutyens.The
memorialwasbuiltquicklyoncethesiteanddesign
wereagreedandwasunveiledbyalocalveteranon9
October1927.Ittakestheformofalowcenotaphatopa
screenwallfromwhichprotrudesaStoneof
Remembrance.Twobronzeurnssitonthememorial
whichcanburngastoemitaflameafeaturewhich
appearedinseveralofLutyens'proposalsforother
memorialsbutwhichwasonlyaccomplishedat
Norwich.Lutyensalsodesignedarollofhonour,on
whichthenamesofthecity'sdeadarelisted,whichwas
installedinNorwichCastlein1931.

NorwichWarMemorial
UnitedKingdom

ForservicemenfromNorfolkkilledintheFirst
WorldWar
Unveiled

1927

Location

52.628269N1.292567E
MarketPlace,Norwich,Norfolk

Designedby

SirEdwinLutyens

OURGLORIOUSDEAD/THEIRNAMELIVETH/
FOREVERMORE/REMEMBERINGALSOALL
OTHERSOFTHISCITYWHOHAVEGIVEN
THEIRLIVESINTHESERVICEOFTHEIR
COUNTRY
ListedBuildingGradeII*

Officialname WarMemorialandWarMemorial
Thememorialwasmovedfromitsoriginallocation
GardenTerrace
outsidetheGuildhalltobecomethecentrepieceofa
memorialgardenbetweentheMarketPlaceandtheCity Designated
30September1983
Hallin1938.Thestructureonwhichthegardenisbuilt
Referenceno. 1051857
wasfoundtobeunstablein2004,asaresultofwhich
thememorialwasclosedoffpendingrepairsforseven
years,duringwhichtimethememorialwasneglectedandfellintodisrepair.Workbeganin2008andwas
completedin2011,duringwhichthememorialwasrotatedtofacethetownhallratherthanthemarket
place.ItwasrededicatedonArmisticeDay2011.NorwichWarMemorialistodayagradeII*listed
buildingin2015,Lutyens'warmemorialsweredeclareda"nationalcollection"andallweregrantedlisted
buildingstatusorhadtheirlistingrenewed.

Contents
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1 Background
2 Historyanddesign
3 21stcenturyhistory
4 Seealso
5 References

Background
IntheaftermathoftheFirstWorldWar,thousandsofwarmemorialswerebuiltacrossBritain.Amongstthe
mostprominentdesignersofmemorialswasarchitectSirEdwinLutyens,describedbyHistoricEnglandas
"theleadingEnglisharchitectofhisgeneration".LutyensdesignedtheCenotaphonWhitehallinLondon,
whichbecamethefocusforthenationalRemembranceSundaycommemorations,aswellastheThiepval
MemorialtotheMissingthelargestBritishwarmemorialanywhereintheworldandtheStoneof
RemembrancewhichappearsinalllargeCommonwealthWarGravesCommissioncemeteriesandin
severalofLutyens'civicmemorials,includingNorwich's.NorwichWarMemorialisdescribedbyHistoric
EnglandasbeingexceptionalamongLutyens'warmemorials.[1]
NorwichwasamongthelastofLutyens'memorialstobebuilt.Whereasmanytownsandcitiesbuilt
memorialsshortlyaftertheendoftheFirstWorldWar,severalabortiveattemptsweremadeinNorwich
buteachbecamemiredincontroversyaschemetobuildanagriculturalcollegetoserveasamemorial
reachedthepointofsolicitingdonations,butthesehadtobereturnedwhentheschemewasabandonedas
beingtooambitiousandnotappealingtoallsocialclasses.CharlesBignoldwaselectedLordMayorof
Norwichin1926andwasdeterminedthatthecitywouldhaveawarmemorialbeforeheleftoffice.Hetook
theinitiativeandcommissionedLutyensandthetwomenselectedasitetotheeastofNorwichGuildhall
whenthearchitectvisitedthecityon13June1927.Bignoldwasadamantthattheprojectshouldbenefitthe
livingaswellasprovideamonumenttothedead.Assuch,heestablishedtheJointHospitalsandWar
MemorialAppeal,withtheobjectiveofraisingfundsfortheNorfolkandNorwichHospitalandtheJenny
LindChildren'sHospital,aswellasaphysicalmemorial.Thetargetwas35,000,ofwhich4,000wasto
beallocatedtoamemorial.ThememorialwouldnothavespaceforthenamesofNorwich's3,544war
dead,soLutyenswasalsocommissionedtodesigntheNorwichRollofHonour.Anadditional800
1,000wasallocatedandLutyensproducedagroupofoakpanelswhichfoldouttorevealthenames
paintedontheinside.[1][2]

Historyanddesign
Themonumentwascompletedswiftlyoncethelocationwasagreed,despiteobjectionsfromwithinthe
communitytobothLutyens'designandtotheproposedlocation,andwasunveiledonSunday9October
1927.Thetotalcostwas2,700(1927),ofwhich10%wasLutyens'fee.GeneralSirIanHamilton(who
hadunveiledSpaldingWarMemorialfiveyearsprevious)presidedovertheunveilingceremonywith
Lutyensinattendance,thoughtheactitselfwasperformedbyalocalveteran,BertieWithers.Withershad
beenselectedatrandomafterinvitationhadbeensolicitedfromthecity'sexservicemenwhometfour
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criteria:thattheywerenativesofNorwich,hadenlistedpriortothe
implementationofconscriptionin1916,hadservedoverseas,andha
beenpermanentlydisabledasaresultoftheirservice.Withers
enlistedon1September1914andfoughtintheGallipoliCampaign
in1915afteraboutofillnessherejoinedhisunittofightinthe
FirstBattleofGaza,wherehisbattalionsufferedheavycasualties.
Withershimselfwasinjuredand,afterhisevacuation,hisleftleg
wasamputatedbelowthekneeuponhisreturntoEnglandhespent
ayearintheNorwichandNorfolkHospital.[3]
Thememorialin2004

ThememorialisofPortlandstoneconstruction.Itconsistsofalow
screenwallontopofwhichisatombchest(cenotaph)toppedwitha
[1]
carvedwreath, thelastofeightcenotaphsbyLutyenstobebuiltinEnglandthefirstbeing
Southampton'sandthemostfamousbeingthatonWhitehallinLondon.[4]Thecity'scoatofarmsiscarved
andpaintedintothetomb,supportedbytworelieffiguresofangels.Thememorialisflankedbypedestals,
whicharetoppedwithgiltbronzeflambeaux.Protrudingfromthescreenwall,beneaththecoatofarms,is
theStoneofRemembrancetheonlyexampleofLutyens'designingtheStoneofRemembranceasan
integralpartofalargerstructure.[5]Thefinishingtouchtothemonumentistwobronzeurnsinwhichgas
canbeburnttoemitsmokeandflamesLutyensproposedsimilardesignsforseveralmemorials,including
theCenotaphonWhitehall,butNorwichwastheonlyplacewheretheproposalwasacceptedandisthus
theonlyoneLutyens'memorialstoemitaflame.[6]Theinscriptionsread"OURGLORIOUSDEAD/
THEIRNAMELIVETH/FOREVERMORE/REMEMBERINGALSOALLOTHERSOFTHISCITY
WHOHAVEGIVENTHEIRLIVESINTHESERVICEOFTHEIRCOUNTRY".Thedatesofthetwo
worldwarsareinscribedonthescreenwall,eithersideoftheStoneofRemembrance.[1]
Therollofhonourwasnotcompletedasquickly.Afteraseriesofbudgetreductions,itwasdeliveredin
June1929butwasofpoorquality,andinthemeantimethetrusteesofthecastlemuseumhaddecidedthat
thecastlewasnotanappropriateplacefortherolltobekept.Ithadalsoexceededthereducedbudget,
thoughLutyensofferedtopaythedifference.Eventuallythetrusteeschangedtheirmindsand
improvementsweremadetothequality,andtherollofhonourwasinstalledinthecastleon13January
1931.[7]
Thewarmemorialwasmovedtoin1938toasiteontheMarketPlace,betweentheCityHallandthecastle,
in1938inorderforittoformthecentrepieceofadedicatedmemorialgardenbyC.H.JamesandS.R.
Pierce.ThegardenswereopenedbyKingGeorgeVIon29October1938.Thewholemonumentnow
standsonaterracewhichrunsparalleltothecityhall,slopingtowardstheMarketPlacewithsteps
accommodatingthethegradient.Arowofeightornamentallamppostsstandalongeithersideofthe
memorialitself,oneofwhichisalaterreplacement.Twoflagpolesstandatthecorners,atthebasesof
whicharelowreliefbrasscarvingsofallegoricalfiguresofPeaceandPlenty.[1]

21stcenturyhistory
Structuralproblemswiththeundercroftofthegardenswerediscoveredintheearly21stcenturyandthe
gardenswereclosedandfencedoffin2004.Thememorialremainedfencedoffforsevenyearsandfellinto
disrepairasthecitycouncillackedthefundstocarryoutthenecessaryrepairs,thoughaccesswasgranted
torepresentativesofTheRoyalBritishLegiontolaywreathsduringRemembranceSundayservices.
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JournalistMartinBellremarkedontheconditionofthememorialin
2007:"tofindawarmemorialinastatelikethatyouwouldhaveto
gotoIraq".Repairworkcommencedonthegardensandundercroft
inearly2008thebeamsandcolumnssupportingtheterrace
havingbecomedangerouslyweakandwasscheduledtotakethree
yearstocomplete.[8]Restorationworkonthememorialitselfstarted
inSeptember2009[9]thecouncilinitiallyhopedthattheproject
wouldbecompletebyArmisticeDay2010.[10]Duringtherepair
workthememorialitselfwasrotatedtofacethecityhalland
underwentminorrestorationwork.Thememorialandgardenswere
rededicatedonArmisticeDay,11November2011,therestoration
havingtakenthreeyearsandcost2.6million.[1][11]

Thememorialseenin2011,
followingrestorationwork

NorwichWarMemorialwasdesignatedagradeIIlistedbuildingon30September1983itwasupgradedto
gradeII*in2014.InNovember2015,aspartofcommemorationsforthecentenaryoftheFirstWorldWar,
Lutyens'warmemorialswererecognisedasa"nationalcollection"andallofhisfreestandingmemorialsin
EnglandwerelistedorhadtheirlistingstatusreviewedandtheirNationalHeritageListforEnglandlist
entrieswereupdatedandexpanded.[12]

Seealso
GradeII*listedbuildingsinNorwich
GradeII*listedwarmemorialsinEngland

References

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoNorwich
warmemorial.

Skelton,TimGliddon,Gerald(2008).LutyensandtheGreatWar.London:FrancesLincoln
Publishers.ISBN9780711228788.
1.HistoricEngland."WarMemorialandWarMemorialGardenTerrace(1051857)".NationalHeritageListfor
England.Retrieved6February2016.
2.Skelton,p.7071.
3.Skelton,pp.7273.
4.HistoricEngland."RochdaleCenotaph(1084274)".NationalHeritageListforEngland.Retrieved3February
2016.
5.Skelton,p.71.
6.Skelton,pp.73,174.
7.Skelton,p.73.
8."Memorial'shutforthreeyears' ".BBCNews.6February2008.Retrieved7February2016.
9."Preview:NewNorwichwarmemorial".BBCNews.29September2009.Retrieved7February2016.
10."Norwich'swarmemorialgardens".BBCNews.29September2009.Retrieved7February2016.
11."WarMemorialandMemorialGardens".NorwichWarMemorialsTrust.Retrieved7February2016.
12."NationalCollectionofLutyensWarMemorialsListed".HistoricEngland.7November2015.Retrieved
1February2016.

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Categories: WorldWarImemorialsintheUnitedKingdom WorksofEdwinLutyens
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GradeII*listedbuildingsinNorfolk MonumentsandmemorialsinNorfolk Norwich

GradeII*listedmonumentsandmemorials Buildingsandstructurescompletedin1927
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