Mark War Memorial
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1425813
- Date first listed:
- 17-Apr-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Mark War Memorial
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1425813
- Date first listed:
- 17-Apr-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Mark War Memorial
- Location Description:
- Church of the Holy Cross, Church Street, Mark, Highbridge, Somerset
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
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Mark
- National Grid Reference:
- ST3805447861
Summary
Mark war memorial, thought to have been erected shortly after 1918.
Reasons for Designation
The war memorial at Mark is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Design: for its elegant design, based on Reginald Blomfield's 'Cross of Sacrifice' design for the Imperial War Graves Commission, with the addition of restrained and well-executed Gothic detailing and lettering;
* Group value: with the Grade I-listed Church of the Holy Cross, the former market cross standing within the churchyard, listed at Grade II*, a C17 chest tomb, and the entranceway on the north side of the churchyard, as well as other nearby listed buildings.
History
The war memorial was erected to commemorate the eleven men of Mark who fell during the First World War of 1914-1918. The names of the four men who died in the Second World War of 1939-1945 were added later. The memorial stands at the north-west corner of the churchyard of the Church of the Holy Cross.
Details
War memorial, circa 1920.
MATERIAL: Ham stone, with complex carving. Bronze memorial plaques.
DESCRIPTION: based on Reginald Blomfield's 'Cross of Sacrifice' design for the Imperial War Graves Commission, the memorial takes the form of a Latin cross with octagonal shaft and cross arm, with moulded octagonal terminals, the tapering shaft standing on an octagonal plinth in two stages, which in turn stands on two octagonal steps. A sword is carved in relief against the cross; in Blomfield's design, a bronze longsword is affixed to the cross. Blomfield intended his design to be a fitting reminder of the 'grim terrors of the trenches' and free from 'any sentimentalism of the Gothic'; the memorial at Mark, however, makes use of Gothic ornament in a restrained and considered way, with fleur-de-lys to the angles of the cross, and engaged crocketed finials to the lower portion of the shaft, with a band of trefoils above.
The western faces of the upper part of the plinth bear the carved inscription ‘Faithful Unto Death’. The lower part of the plinth carries two bronze plaques, the one to the west with the names of those who fell in the First World War, and the one to the east with the names of those lost in the Second World War.
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.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 14/12/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/24768
War Memorials Online, accessed 14/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/173863
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 17:37:11.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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