Summary

First World War memorial. Erected 1920.

Description

First World War memorial. Erected 1920.

MATERIALS: carved from limestone with a bronze panel, resting on a brick foundation.

DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, facing east, near the centre of Winterbourne Abbas. It is immediately north of the Grade I listed medieval church and west of the Grade II listed late C17 Wherry Cottage. The memorial comprises a rough-hewn limestone cross with Celtic head on a tapering shaft 1.3m high that rises from a trapezoidal limestone plinth 0.5m high. A bronze panel attached to the front of the plinth is inscribed TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ (NAMES)/ FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. Four names are inscribed upon it, with surname, rank, year died, regiment, place of death, age of death. The plinth rests on a square limestone base with a brick and cement foundation.

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 7 December 2016.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw a huge wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country. One such memorial was erected in 1920 to commemorate four men of Winterbourne Abbas and Winterbourne Steepleton who lost their lives during the conflict. The war memorial was unveiled by the Bishop of Salisbury on Sunday 25th April 1920. A service was held in the church, followed by prayers of dedication and singing of the hymn ‘Come, Labour on’ at the memorial.

Reasons for Listing

Winterbourne Abbas War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Group value: with the Grade I listed St Mary’s Church and the Grade II listed Wherry Cottage.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677395

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings