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Castle Hedingham

This war memorial consists of an ancient cross which was later dedicated as a war memorial located in the churchyard of St Nicolas, Castle Hedingham. The memorial consists of the original plinth and part of the original shaft set on a modern base on which are carved in bass relief the 37 names of the fallen in World War I and World War II. The lead cross was added at the time of dedication of the memorial.

In 2013 War Memorials Trust offered a grant of £187 towards the undertaking of a condition survey to establish the level of works required to the memorial. The heavy lead cross is currently leaning and the memorial appears to be subsiding. Until the reasons for these issues are known it is difficult to establish a work schedule therefore investigative works were necessary in this instance.

Following this report an application to the Grants for War Memorials scheme was received in 2014 to undertake the works recommended to address the condition of the memorial. The survey had shown that the memorial was leaning due to the likelihood that the memorial overlays earlier burials. As such the proposals for works included the provision of new piled foundations to protect against further movement and some repairs to the cross, including cleaning and repairs to the lead. A grant of £12,855 was offered towards a total project cost of £17,140 to undertake these works.

The dedication ceremony for the memorial took place on 13th November 1921 and was led by the Right Reverend Bishop E. N Powell. The memorial was unveiled by Lt. Col. George Symonds of Moyns Park, Birdbrook, with music which was provided by a brass and string band conducted by R. Francis. The prayers of dedication were led by the Reverend George Twist, priest of this parish, and the names of the fallen were read by Mr Harry Tucker Ripper, with a half muffled peal being rung on the church bells to conclude the ceremony.

The cross originally stood at Crouch Green for 400 years before being thrown down at the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII in around 1535. The carving is different on each of the four sides of the shaft, with the finest carving placed so as to face the highway. This side now faces the entrance to the churchyard from Falcon Square, and like the base is carved with a series of palmettes said to be based on the illuminated pages of the St Edmundsbury Bible of 1135 AD.

For many years the original shaft and base were used in the cellars of the Falcon Inn to support the cellar roof. Edward Bingham, the Victorian potter now renowned for his Castle Hedingham ware, recognised it as an important relic of the medieval period of Castle Hedingham. The owner, Mr Kendall, kindly gave the cross shaft and base to the village, only being reimbursed for the cost of a replacement support.

The stoup inside the church is thought to have been the finial of the cross before the Reformation. It is not known what happened to the original crucifix which once topped the shaft. Part of the shaft itself is still in private hands and the missing portion is modelled in cement.

The Inscription reads:

To the glory of God, this twelfth century cross was recovered and restored to the churchyard, A.D.1921 in memory of those who fell in the Great War, 1914 – 1918.

To this list were added the names of those men who died in service in World War II.