Butterwick War Memorial Obelisk
St Andrew's churchyard, Church Road, Butterwick, Lincolnshire, PE22 0HT
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1448490
- Date first listed:
- 24-Aug-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Butterwick War Memorial Obelisk
- Statutory Address:
- St Andrew's churchyard, Church Road, Butterwick, Lincolnshire, PE22 0HT
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1448490
- Date first listed:
- 24-Aug-2017
- List Entry Name:
- Butterwick War Memorial Obelisk
- Statutory Address 1:
- St Andrew's churchyard, Church Road, Butterwick, Lincolnshire, PE22 0HT
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 Andrew's churchyard, Church Road, Butterwick, Lincolnshire, PE22 0HT
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Lincolnshire
- District:
- Boston (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Butterwick
- National Grid Reference:
- TF3876944911
Summary
First World War memorial obelisk, unveiled 1920.
Reasons for Designation
Butterwick War Memorial Obelisk, which stands in St Andrew's churchyard, 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 local community, and the sacrifice it made in the First World War.
Architectural interest:
* An elegant granite obelisk in the Classical style;
* Degree of survival: unusually, the memorial has not been adapted for Second World War commemoration, and thus retains its original design intent.
Group value:
* With the Grade-I listed Church of St Andrew.
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. This was the result of both the huge impact on communities of the loss of three quarters of a million British lives, and also 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 Butterwick as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by 19 members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. It was unveiled on 9 October 1920 by Major Oswald Bissell Giles in a ceremony led by Reverend John Robert Trotter. The memorial was built by Thomas Kent, monumental masons of Boston, Lincolnshire (also responsible for the war memorials at Coningsby, Freiston, Leverton, and Skirbeck Quarter, all Grade II-listed).
Details
The memorial is located next to the churchyard path, immediately to the south of the Church of St Andrew (Grade I-listed). It stands within a square, kerbed, enclosure which is surfaced with green glass chippings. The memorial itself takes the form of an obelisk of polished red Aberdeen granite. It has a square stone base, above which there is a three-stage pedestal in granite, each step with a chamfered edge. The obelisk is in the same stone, and has a four-sided, tapering shaft with a pyramidal top.
The upper stage of the base is inscribed on the western and southern faces with incised lettering, painted in silver. The main inscription is the same on both sides, with names listed below, reading ERECTED BY THE INHABITANTS OF/ BUTTERWICK TO THE GLORY OF GOD/ AND IN MEMORY OF THE MEN FROM/ THIS VILLAGE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES/ IN THE GREAT WAR (1914-1918).
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, 25 September 2017.
Sources
Books and journals
Credland, M, The First World War Memorials of Lincolnshire, (2014), 20, 61
Websites
War Memorials Online, accessed 25 September 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/149890
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 19:35:18.
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.