Description

CANNINGTON

435/0/10013 HIGH STREET
20-JAN-11 Cannington War Memorial

GV II
First World War Memorial, dedicated 1921, with Second World War additions.

MATERIAL: Bath stone.

PLAN: It has an octagonal plan.

DESCRIPTION: The memorial takes the form of a small floriated cross upon a tall and slender tapering octagonal shaft, which in turn rests upon a square plinth. Below this is a two-stepped octagonal base. The inscription on the west face of the plinth reads: 'TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF THIS PARISH / WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1918 / 1939-1945'. A bronze plaque on the south face of the plinth records the names of the twenty men of Cannington who died in the First World War and the seven men who died in the Second World War

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. One such memorial was erected in Cannington, at the junction of Rodway and the High Street. The idea of erecting a war memorial was put forward at a parish meeting on 11 February 1919 and a War Memorial committee was subsequently established for the purpose of raising monies by public subscription. Including interest, a total of £274 10s 3d was raised with £252 2s 8d being spent on the memorial itself and the remainder being retained towards its future upkeep. Erected on land donated by Philip Hales Pleydell-Bouverie of Brymore House, the memorial was dedicated on 11 November 1921. Documentation does not record the name of the architect, only that they received a fee of £5 5s 0d, with the builder, who received £168 9s 0d, recorded as Mr. Willis. In 1922 the council acquired a howitzer shell that they added to the site. However, in 1942, it was removed as part of the scrap metal drive for the War effort. After the Second World War further inscriptions were added to the memorial. In 1957 the cross was moved some 2.4m to the west to facilitate the widening of Rodway, to allow construction traffic unimpeded access to Hinkley Point for the construction of a power station.

SOURCES: United Kingdom Inventory of War Memorials Reference No. 1432, http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.1432/fromUkniwmSearch/1, accessed 21 September 2010.

Sedgemoor District Council, Conservation Area Appraisal: Draft for Consultation - Cannington, (2010), 7

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The war memorial at Cannington is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: it is a well-executed war memorial of simple, elegant design.
* Historic interest: it has strong cultural and historical significance within both a local and national context.
* Social interest: it is an eloquent witness to the impact of tragic world events on this community.
* Group value: it has group value with the Grade II listed No.1 Fore Street

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, 14 December 2016.

Reasons for Listing

Yes List

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675217

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.

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