Harleston War Memorial

Harleston War Memorial is a First World War memorial, erected in 1920, with later additions commemorating the Second World War. It is prominently located on a roadside memorial green to the east of Broad Street, Harleston, adjacent to the Church of St John. The memorial faces northwest onto Broad Street and is accessed via two steps flanked by granite posts. A cruciform-plan concrete path with timber benches leads to the memorial, which also has a modern flagpole behind it.

The memorial is constructed from Cornish grey granite. It consists of a tall, decorated cross in the Celtic style, set atop a tapering rectangular monolith plinth, which in turn stands on a low single-stone base. The cross shaft has extensive decorative relief carving on its front, featuring dot motifs encircled and interlaced with stylised snakes and foliage. The cross head has a large central boss, accompanied by smaller bosses on each arm, and includes zoomorphic figures, possibly lambs, beneath the heads of four serpents or snakes. The cross ring displays knotwork carving. The plinth is of rough-hewn granite with smooth-dressed rectangular fields on each side, bearing inscriptions in black lettering. The main inscription on the front reads "TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY/ OF THE/ REDENHALL HARLESTON WORTWELL MEN/ WHO FELL IN THE WAR/ 1914-1918./ AND THE WAR 1939-1945./ FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH.” The remaining sides of the base record the names of those who fell in the First World War. A granite slab, shaped like a wide scrolled parchment, has been added to the front of the plinth, resting on a ledge, and lists the 24 names of those who fell in the Second World War. A small slate plaque is attached to the front of the memorial at the base of the cross shaft, commemorating "NORFOLK'S FIRST VC / PTE HENRY WARD / 78TH REGIMENT / 1823-1867."