Bowness on Solway War Memorial
St Michael's Churchyard, Church View, Bowness on Solway, Cumbria, CA7 5AF
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1463519
- Date first listed:
- 18-Apr-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Bowness on Solway War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- St Michael's Churchyard, Church View, Bowness on Solway, Cumbria, CA7 5AF
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1463519
- Date first listed:
- 18-Apr-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Bowness on Solway War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- St Michael's Churchyard, Church View, Bowness on Solway, Cumbria, CA7 5AF
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 Michael's Churchyard, Church View, Bowness on Solway, Cumbria, CA7 5AF
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cumberland (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Bowness
- National Grid Reference:
- NY2233962636
Summary
First World War memorial, 1920 with a Second World War addition.
Reasons for Designation
Bowness on Solway War Memorial, erected 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 simple yet poignant memorial in the form of a Latin cross crafted in polished pink granite by Messrs Beattie of Carlisle.
Group value:
* it benefits from a spatial group value with the Grade II*-listed Church of St Michael, in whose churchyard it is located.
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 war memorial was raised at Bowness on Solway as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. This war memorial was erected in 1920 within the churchyard of the Church of St Michael (National Heritage List for England: 1137007), to commemorate 29 local servicemen who fell in the First World War. It was built by the firm of masons Messrs Beattie & Co of Carlisle, who were responsible for many war memorials in the north of England and in Scotland, some of which are Grade II listed. The memorial was unveiled and dedicated on 8 December 1920 by the Bishop of Carlisle. After the Second World War the name of an additional serviceman was added.
Details
First World War memorial, 1920, with a Second World War addition.
MATERIALS: red granite.
DESCRIPTION: Bowness on Solway war memorial is located in the churchyard of the Grade II*-listed Church of St Michael; it is prominently situated by the churchyard entrance and close to the main road it faces. It takes the form of a polished red granite Latin cross atop a simple foot surmounting a tall four-sided plinth with moulded and incised cap decoration, on a two-stepped base. The plinth bears the inscriptions in incised and blacked lettering and reads: IN/ MEMORY/ AND HONOUR OF/ THE MEN/ OF THIS PARISH/ WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914 – 1918// (NAMES)// AND JOSEPH MILLAR WHO FELL IN THE SECOND GREAT WAR 1939 - 1945. The names of the fallen are listed on the left and right sides in order of first name.
Sources
Websites
Imperial War Museum Inventory, accessed 07-03-2019 from http://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/4012
War Memorials Online, accessed 07-03-2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/124959/
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 13-Jun-2026 at 20:58:39.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
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