Cannington War Memorial
Cannington War Memorial, HIGH STREET
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1396430
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Cannington War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Cannington War Memorial, HIGH STREET
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
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 |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1396430
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Cannington War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Cannington War Memorial, HIGH STREET
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:
- Cannington War Memorial, HIGH STREET
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Cannington
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 25687 39652
Reasons for Designation
Yes List
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 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.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 509200
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 14/12/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1432
War Memorials Online, accessed 14/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/121093
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 06-Jul-2026 at 03:42:03.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.