THE commanding war memorial that sits adjacent to the busy A11 as it meanders its way into and through Norfolk is neither a traditional ruin or a folly but still justified its inclusion in my Ruins and Follies of East Anglia (Amberley Publishing, 2019) book as a reminder to us all of the folly of war.
At 127 feet in height it is one of the tallest war memorials in Britain as well as being one of the most striking. It was commissioned by the Earl of Iveagh to commemorate the 48 men from Elveden and the adjacent parishes of Icklingham and Enswell who lost their lives in World War One and, fittingly, stands on a spot where those three parishes meet.
DARK CLOUDS AROUND THE ELVEDON MEMORIAL (Stephen McKay/Geograph)
The aftermath of that terrible conflict saw a massive wave of visible public commemoration sweep over the nation with, in England alone, tens of thousands of memorials being erected as countless communities, large and small, tried to come to terms with not only the loss of around 750,000 British lives but the official policy at the time of not repatriating the dead.
This meant that the memorials became the main focus of those communities grief and a place where, to this day, poppy wreathes are laid every Remembrance Sunday.
The Elveden estate where the memorial stands had belonged to Edward Cecil Guinness, a noted philanthropist who had, in 1919, been created Earl of Iveagh and Viscount of Elveden. He commissioned the monument from Clyde Young, son of William who had, towards the end of the nineteenth century, been the mastermind behind an extension to Elveden Hall that had included a new east wing.
The memorials costs were met by Guinness although it should be said that he invited parishioners to contribute to the costs if they wished, something many of them did. Guinness is said to have been partially motivated, with regard to the design and impact on the landscape that the memorial has, on one that he was already familiar with, declaring that this new monument be taller than the one to Coke of Norfolk at Holkham Hall (see previous blog), but not as tall as Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.
For the record, the Elveden Memorial, at 127 feet, is four feet higher than its contemporary in Holkham but still nearly 20 feet shorter than Nelson’s Column.
Elveden War Memorial is a Corinthian column made of Weldon stone that is surmounted by an urn made of Portland stone. It is a Grade II* listed building that is protected and listed on the National Heritage List for England that is maintained by Historic England.
A fitting memorial to a lost generation.