War Memorial Cross
St James' Churchyard, St James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8HG
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1430732
- Date first listed:
- 16-Nov-2015
- List Entry Name:
- War Memorial Cross
- Statutory Address:
- St James' Churchyard, St James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8HG
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1430732
- Date first listed:
- 16-Nov-2015
- List Entry Name:
- War Memorial Cross
- Statutory Address 1:
- St James' Churchyard, St James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8HG
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:
- St James' Churchyard, St James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8HG
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Dorset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Shaftesbury
- National Grid Reference:
- ST8581422405
Summary
War memorial, erected in 1921.
Reasons for Designation
The War Memorial in St James’ Churchyard, Shaftesbury is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on this community and the sacrifice it made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: as a simple, yet elegant memorial in the form of a Calvary cross;
* Group value: the memorial has group value with the church of St James (Grade II).
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 the churchyard of St James’ church (Grade II) in Shaftesbury in the early 1920s to commemorate the fallen from this community who lost their lives during the conflict.
Details
War memorial, erected in 1921.
MATERIALS: constructed from timber and local stone.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial is situated in the churchyard, close to the liturgical east (north-east) end of the church, to which it is fixed with metal ties*. It is in the form of a wooden Calvary cross with a bronze hanging figure of Christ, a wood and tiled gabled weatherhood above, and a wooden shaft. It is set on a square socket stone which rests on a two-stepped square base. The socket stone has three bronze plaques which carry inscriptions. The south-east plaque is inscribed: REST ETERNAL GRANT UNTO/ (NAMES); the front (north-east) one: THEM O LORD AND LET LIGHT/ (NAMES), and the plaque to the north-west face: PERPETUAL SHINE UPON THEM/ (NAMES). On the north-east side of the upper step is a further plaque which is inscribed: MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
* Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Building and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the fixings between the war memorial and the church are not of special architectural or historic interest and are not included in the listing.
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
St James’ Church, Shaftesbury, WMT Reference Number: WM7964, accessed 9 October 2015 from http://www.warmemorials.org/search-grants/?gID=1153
War Memorials Register, accessed 7 December 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/55234
War Memorials Online, accessed 7 December 2016 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/160173
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
The listed building(s) is/are shown coloured blue on the attached map. Pursuant to s.1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’), structures attached to or within the curtilage of the listed building (save those coloured blue on the map) are not to be treated as part of the listed building for the purposes of the Act.
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 17:59:05.
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.