Cannington War Memorial

Heritage listing

Details 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 a

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.