Forncett St Mary War Memorial

The Forncett St Mary War Memorial is a First World War memorial built in 1921, with additions for the Second World War. It is situated at the roadside next to the entrance of St Mary’s Churchyard.

The memorial features a cross bottonée atop a tall, tapering octagonal shaft. This shaft has a moulded collar adorned with foliate carvings and ends in a square foot with inverted chamfered stops. The shaft rises from a hexagonal plinth that has buttresses at the corner edges. At the top, it is capped with a crenellated design above a moulded cornice, resting on a moulded foot. The plinth itself sits on a two-stepped hexagonal base, which is on a hexagonal platform with a moulded cornice.

Inscriptions and names are displayed on the west side of the plinth and base in incised lettering that is painted black. The main inscription is set within an arched, fielded panel on the plinth and reads: "TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND TO COMMEMORATE THE VALOUR OF THE MEN OF THIS PARISH WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES AND OF ALL THOSE WHO FREELY OFFERED THEM IN DEFENCE OF RIGHT AND IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR KING AND COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918." Below this, the names of the eight casualties from the First World War are listed on an inset panel on the upper step of the base. Beneath the names is the inscription "RIP BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH AND I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE."

The dedication for the Second World War is located on a recessed panel on the lower step of the base and reads "1939 – 1945 (3 NAMES)."