COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY

COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY, WEMBDON ROAD

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Commemorative monument to James Cook,who died 1911.Built to the designs of Samson and Colthurst. Read the official list entry to find out more.

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1393857
Date first listed:: 24-Jun-2010
List Entry Name:: COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY
Statutory Address:: COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY, WEMBDON ROAD

User submitted image — Uploaded by Andy Williams This photo may not represent the current condition of the site
View all

Location

Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.

There is a problem

Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions.

This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.

What is the National Heritage List for England?

The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.

The list includes:

🏠 Buildings
🏰 Scheduled monuments
🌳 Parks and gardens
⚔️ Battlefields
⚓ Shipwrecks

Find out more about listing

Historic England Archive

Search over 1 million photographs and drawings from the 1850s to the present day using our images archive.

Find Photos

Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Listed Building
Grade:: II
List Entry Number:: 1393857
Date first listed:: 24-Jun-2010
List Entry Name:: COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY
Statutory Address 1:: COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY, WEMBDON ROAD

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:: COOK MEMORIAL, WEMBDON ROAD CEMETERY, WEMBDON ROAD

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Somerset (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Bridgwater
National Grid Reference:: ST 29021 36934

Reasons for Designation

The Cook Memorial in Wembdon Road Cemetery is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is an unusually ambitious Edwardian funerary monument, highly architectural in character, which draws inspiration from C18 neoclassicism * Its sculptural interest: the execution of the monument, in particular the angel, is of high quality

Details

736-1/0/10006 24-JUN-10

BRIDGWATER WEMBDON ROAD(North,off)Cook Memorial,Wembdon Road Cemetery

GII Commemorative monument to James Cook,who died 1911.Built to the designs of Samson and Colthurst.MATERIALS:Portland stone with a concrete core;bronze inscription panel and cross produced by the Bromsgrove Guild of Craftsman.DESCRIPTION:The upper section is bow-fronted,with composite order columns to each corner carrying an entablature.The inscription panel is framed in stone and reads:IN MEMORY OF/JAMES COOK/JUSTICE OF THE PEACE/AND FOR NINE YEARS TOWN CLERK/OF BRIDGWATER/BORN 21 NOVEMBER 1835/AT BRIDGWATER/DIED 24 NOVEMBER 1911/AT WESTON SUPER MARE.The lower stage is flanked by side extensions,each supporting a gadrooned vase;in the front of each is a projecting side wall,with stone bowls over pedestals.Between is a standing stone angel,her hands crossed over her breast.At her feet is a stone dedication plaque which reads:MEMORYS/TRIBUTE/TO MY/DEAR HUSBAND.Above the inscription is what appears to be a crown that is flanked by angels in profile.Further inscriptions are dedicated to the memory of James' wife Ellen who died in 1923;his mother Elizabeth,who died 1847;and, at the base of the monument,is a small stone plaque to Gwen E Legge who died in 1943 and was probably a family member.HISTORY: Wembdon Road Cemetery was opened in 1851.It comprised three areas:a large part for the Anglican population;a second area, which was extended later in the century, for the Non-Conformists; and a third, smaller section set aside as the pauper's graveyard. Separate mortuary chapels were also erected for the Anglicans and Non-Conformists respectively.The Cook Memorial was erected in 1912 to commemorate James Cook (1835-1911).From his epitaph,we know that he was a Justice of the Peace and the town clerk of Bridgwater for nine years.His neoclassical monument was designed by prominent Bridgwater architects Samson and Colthurst who were responsible for quite a considerable number of buildings in the town and the local area.SOURCES:Plan of monument to James Cook, Esq.JP,Bridgwater (June 1912),Somerset Record Office, Ref. A\CMY/151 REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:The Cook Memorial is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:* It is an unusually ambitious Edwardian funerary monument,highly architectural in character,which draws inspiration from C18 neoclassicism* Its sculptural interest:the execution of the monument,in particular the angel,is of high quality.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: 507646
Legacy System:: LBS

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.