Pilton War Memorial

Summary

First and Second World War memorial. Erected 1920 with the names of the Fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

Reasons for Designation

Pilton War Memorial, erected in 1920, is listed 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.

Architectural interest:

* a granite obelisk on top of a square plinth.

Group value:

* with the Grade II-listed Dunston Cottage and Toll Cottage and the Grade II-listed Pilton Stores.

History

The aftermath of the First World War saw an unprecedented wave of public commemoration with tens of thousands of memorials erected across the country, 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 Pilton, as permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The memorial was constructed in 1920, and dedicated in a service held by the local vicar, Rev Preb Bennett, in late September 1920.

Names of the Fallen in the Second World War were added to the monument after 1945. Old photographs of the memorial show that the semi-circular enclosure was a later construction (after 2009), but the date of construction is not known.

Details

First and Second World War memorial. Erected 1920 with the names of the Fallen of the Second World War added after 1945.

MATERIALS: Carved in granite.

DESCRIPTION: The monument comprises a simple granite obelisk, which stands on top of a slightly tapering square plinth and cap stone. The plinth, in turn, stands on top of a three-stepped square base, and the monument is partially enclosed by a semi-circular stone wall. The enclosure is fronted by iron railings and accessed via stone steps.

The plinth is inscribed on two sides with the names of the Fallen from the First World War. The top steps are inscribed “LEST WE FORGET” and 1914 – 1918. A third face of the monument is inscribed with the names of the Fallen from the Second World War, above the dates 1939 – 1945.

Sources

Books and journals
Pilton: War Memorial Dedicated in Wells Journal, Vol. LXX No 39, (1 October 1920), 2

Websites
Information on war memorials from the Imperial War Museum database, accessed 10 October 2017 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1407
Information on war memorials from the War Memorials Online database, accessed 10 October 2017 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/162641/
Old photograph of Pilton War Memorial, from the Pilton Village History Group, accessed 10 October 2017 from http://www.piltonvillage.co.uk/pvhg/?p=929
Old photograph of Pilton War Memorial, accessed 10 October 2017 from https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1498690

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.

Print the official list entry