Flempton-cum-Hengrave War Memorial

Bury Road (A1101), Hengrave, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6LS

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Overview

First World War memorial, unveiled in 1920, later C20 repairs.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1469639
Date first listed:
27-Apr-2020
List Entry Name:
Flempton-cum-Hengrave War Memorial
Statutory Address:
Bury Road (A1101), Hengrave, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6LS

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1469639
Date first listed:
27-Apr-2020
List Entry Name:
Flempton-cum-Hengrave War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:
Bury Road (A1101), Hengrave, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6LS

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

The scope of legal protection for listed buildings

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.

For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Bury Road (A1101), Hengrave, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6LS

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Suffolk
District:
West Suffolk (District Authority)
Parish:
Hengrave
National Grid Reference:
TL8197369173

Summary

First World War memorial, unveiled in 1920, later C20 repairs.

Reasons for Designation

Flempton-cum-Hengrave War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:
* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this local community, and the sacrifice it has made in the conflicts of the C20.

Architectural interest:
* a simple, yet fitting, commemorative structure in the form of a Latin cross.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw the biggest single wave of public commemoration ever with tens of thousands of memorials erected across England, 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 on the side of the road between the villages of Flempton and Hengrave as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of these communities who lost their lives during the First World War. The memorial was sponsored by local landowners, Sir John and Lady Wood, and was unveiled on 24 October 1920 by the Right Honourable Earl of Stradbroke who, the same day, also unveiled a tablet inscribed with the names of the fallen in St Catharine’s Church in Flempton. The memorial was designed by Sir Walter Tapper (1861-1935), who later served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was knighted in 1935. It was made by stonemasons Hanchets and originally took the form of a plinth upon which was a slender stone shaft, some 5.5m high, surmounted by a cross-head of Purbeck marble. The shaft and cross-head were later replaced by a metal Latin cross, possibly the result of a vehicle causing damage to the memorial.

Details

First World War memorial, unveiled in 1920, later C20 repairs.

DESCRIPTION
The memorial is situated on the east side of the main road (A1101) which links the two villages of Flempton and Hengrave, close to the parish boundary. It comprises a plain black metal Latin cross set upon a Clipsham stone plinth with a moulded top and base which stands on a square base. The front (south-west) face of the plinth carries the main dedicatory inscription in blackened lettering which reads:

IN MEMORY OF/ THOSE WHO DIED IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914–1919/ THESE NOBLY PLAYED THEIR PART/ THESE HEARD THE CALL/ FOR GOD AND KING AND HOME/ THEY GAVE THEIR ALL.

The rear face is inscribed:

THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THIS PARISH/ OF FLEMPTON-CUM-HENGRAVE ARE RECORDED/ ON A TABLET IN THE PARISH CHURCH./ ERECTED BY SIR JOHN AND LADY WOOD 1920.

Sources

Websites
Flempton cum Hengrave War Memorial, accessed 24 February 2020 from http://www.undyingmemory.net/FLEMPTON/flempton-memorial.html
Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, Flempton-cum-Hengrave, accessed 24 February 2020 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/5192
Sir Walter Tapper, accessed 24 February 2020 from http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/sir-walter-tapper
Flempton and Hengrave War Memorial, accessed 25 February 2020 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/259032/

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Flempton-cum-Hengrave War Memorial

Map

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 16-Dec-2025 at 10:35:55.

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© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2025. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.

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