War Memorial

War Memorial. Designed in 1919 by Sir Reginald Blomfield. The memorial is constructed of ashlar stone and features a bronze cross. It takes the form of a wayside cross and is situated on the village green. The design consists of an octagonal plinth composed of three irregular steps, supporting a taller pedestal. A tall octagonal shaft topped with a cross summit bears a fixed bronze sword. Inscription panels on the plinth list the names of those who died in the First World War, with later additions recording the names of those who died in the Second World War. The memorial is unusual as it was a gift from a single donor, Lionel Robinson of Old Buckenham Hall, who was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1916. The design is Blomfield’s well-known “Cross of Sacrifice,” which was employed in Imperial War Graves Commission cemeteries and as a memorial in locations across Britain and the Empire using a design adaptable to four different sizes. Blomfield, alongside Lutyens and Herbert Baker, served as a principal architect for the Imperial War Graves Commission, designing numerous memorials for the Commission, other bodies, and private clients. Blomfield noted in his Memoirs that he intended to create an abstract and impersonal design, avoiding specific architectural styles and sentimentality, reflecting the severity of the war.