Old Marston War Memorial
Churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas, Elsfield Road, Old Marston, Oxford, OX3 0PR
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1441014
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Old Marston War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas, Elsfield Road, Old Marston, Oxford, OX3 0PR
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1441014
- Date first listed:
- 20-Jan-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Old Marston War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Churchyard of the Church of St Nicholas, Elsfield Road, Old Marston, Oxford, OX3 0PR
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 the Church of St Nicholas, Elsfield Road, Old Marston, Oxford, OX3 0PR
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Oxfordshire
- District:
- Oxford (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Old Marston
- National Grid Reference:
- SP5271308845
Summary
First World War memorial.
Reasons for Designation
Old Marston War Memorial 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 sacrifices it has made in the conflicts of the C20;
* Architectural interest: an elegant and striking memorial cross;
* Group value: with the Church of St Nicholas (Grade I) and graves within the churchyard (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, both as a result of the huge impact the loss of three quarters of a million British lives had on communities and the official policy of not repatriating the dead, which meant that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at St Nicholas’s Church, Old Marston (then just outside the city of Oxford) as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.
This war memorial contains no names. The date of the memorial is uncertain. There is no mention of it in a newspaper report of December 1919 about the unveiling of the related memorial plaque with names inside the church, and this probably indicates that it dates from the 1920s.
Details
MATERIALS: limestone.
DESCRIPTION: the memorial is located in a prominent position to the left of the path leading to St Nicholas’s Church. It consists of a corniced stone cross with a quatrefoil motif on the front (south-facing) side. Its tapering shaft is octagonal with carved broach stops at the base. It is set on an octagonal plinth on a square chamfered stone with carved broach stops. This in turn stands on a two-stepped square base. The total height of the memorial is approximately 2.75 metres.
On the three faces of the front of the octagonal base, in capitals: 1914 / LEST / WE / FORGET / 1918. On the riser of the top step is inscribed: THEIR NAMES ARE RECORDED WITHIN THE CHURCH.
This List entry has been amended to add the source for War Memorials Online. This source was not used in the compilation of this List entry but is added here as a guide for further reading, 28 July 2017.
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Register, accessed 21 October 2016 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/32071
War Memorials Online, accessed 28 July 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/250992
Other
Oxford Journal Illustrated, 17 December 1919, p7
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 08-Jun-2026 at 23:52:47.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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