Willis Family Monument
CHURCHYARD OF ST EDWARD KING AND MARTYR CHURCH, GOATHURST, BRIDGWATER
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1344967
- Date first listed:
- 29-Mar-1963
- List Entry Name:
- Willis Family Monument
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCHYARD OF ST EDWARD KING AND MARTYR CHURCH, GOATHURST, BRIDGWATER
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Location
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Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2002-06-11
- Reference:
- IOE01/06432/03
- Rights:
- © Mr Mick Humphreys. Source: Historic England Archive
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1344967
- Date first listed:
- 29-Mar-1963
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 04-Nov-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Willis Family Monument
- Statutory Address 1:
- CHURCHYARD OF ST EDWARD KING AND MARTYR CHURCH, GOATHURST, BRIDGWATER
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- CHURCHYARD OF ST EDWARD KING AND MARTYR CHURCH, GOATHURST, BRIDGWATER
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Goathurst
- National Grid Reference:
- ST2564734331
Summary
Funerary monument to the Willis family, dated 1765.
Reasons for Designation
The Willis Family Monument, dated 1765, is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Design quality: its classical design possesses a superior level of quality, craftsmanship and execution;
* Architectural interest: as an unusual monument which, in contrast to the more typical chest tombs, employs a highly-decorative column to create a well-realised funerary structure;
* Group value: it forms a strong grouping with the Grade I listed Church of St Edward King and Martyr (Grade I) which contains a large number of high-quality funerary monuments, and with the Grade II-listed chest tombs in the churchyard.
History
The Willis family monument in the churchyard of the Church of St Edward King and Martyr is described by Pevsner (see Sources) as "the C18 version of churchyard cross". It dates from 1765 and commemorates various members of the Willis family (Collinson, see Sources). The inscription on the north side of the monument is in memory of John Willis and his wife, Susanna, who died in 1710 and 1725 respectively; that to the south side commemorates John Willis who, between 1724 and his death in 1765 was the owner of Stogursey Castle situated some 10km to the north-west of Goathurst, and Jane, his wife, who died in 1736.
Details
Funerary monument to the Willis family, dated 1765.
MATERIALS: carved from limestone.
DESCRIPTION: the monument has a rustic classical design and takes the form of a rectangular chest with canted ends and a frieze of acanthus leaves to the upper part. There are worn inscription panels commemorating members of the Willis family on all four faces, set within decorative frames and with carved drapery hanging down the sides. There are relief sculptures of cherubs above and at the upper corners of the larger panels (north and south), and cherub heads above the narrower side panels. The chest is surmounted by a square, fluted column with an embellished Corinthian capital. The column’s north and south sides each have with a niche and a cherub to its north and south sides, and flower decoration to the west and east. It is capped by a decorative flaming urn.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 269295
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Collinson, J, History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset, (1791)
Pevsner, N, The Buildings of England: South and West Somerset, (1979), 185
Websites
A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 6, Victoria County History, 1992, accessed 5 October 2015 from http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol6/pp136-137
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 05-Jun-2026 at 16:01:25.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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