Winterbourne Abbas War Memorial
Churchyard of St Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1427982
- Date first listed:
- 19-Aug-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Winterbourne Abbas War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Churchyard of St Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1427982
- Date first listed:
- 19-Aug-2015
- List Entry Name:
- Winterbourne Abbas War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Churchyard of St Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
- Statutory Address 2:
- Churchyard of St Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
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 Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
- Statutory Address:
- Churchyard of St Mary's Church, Winterbourne Abbas, Dorset, DT2 9LU
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Winterbourne Abbas
- National Grid Reference:
- SY6187290495
Summary
First World War memorial. Erected 1920.
Reasons for Designation
Winterbourne Abbas War Memorial, which stands in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Group value: with the Grade I listed St Mary’s Church and the Grade II listed Wherry Cottage.
History
The aftermath of the First World War saw a huge wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country. One such memorial was erected in 1920 to commemorate four men of Winterbourne Abbas and Winterbourne Steepleton who lost their lives during the conflict. The war memorial was unveiled by the Bishop of Salisbury on Sunday 25th April 1920. A service was held in the church, followed by prayers of dedication and singing of the hymn ‘Come, Labour on’ at the memorial.
Details
First World War memorial. Erected 1920.
MATERIALS: carved from limestone with a bronze panel, resting on a brick foundation.
DESCRIPTION: the war memorial stands in the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, facing east, near the centre of Winterbourne Abbas. It is immediately north of the Grade I listed medieval church and west of the Grade II listed late C17 Wherry Cottage. The memorial comprises a rough-hewn limestone cross with Celtic head on a tapering shaft 1.3m high that rises from a trapezoidal limestone plinth 0.5m high. A bronze panel attached to the front of the plinth is inscribed TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD/ AND IN MEMORY OF/ (NAMES)/ FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. Four names are inscribed upon it, with surname, rank, year died, regiment, place of death, age of death. The plinth rests on a square limestone base with a brick and cement foundation.
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, 7 December 2016.
Sources
Websites
The British Newspaper Archive: The Western Gazette Newspaper, Friday 30 April 1920, accessed 9th June 2015 from http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000407/19200430/005/0004
War Memorials Register, accessed 07/12/2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/78
War Memorials Online, accessed 07/12/2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/122367
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 25-Jul-2026 at 03:48:32.
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.