Swimbridge War Memorial
Church of St James, Church Lane, Swimbridge, Devon, EX32 0PP
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1463734
- Date first listed:
- 24-May-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Swimbridge War Memorial
- Statutory Address:
- Church of St James, Church Lane, Swimbridge, Devon, EX32 0PP
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1463734
- Date first listed:
- 24-May-2019
- List Entry Name:
- Swimbridge War Memorial
- Statutory Address 1:
- Church of St James, Church Lane, Swimbridge, Devon, EX32 0PP
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:
- Church of St James, Church Lane, Swimbridge, Devon, EX32 0PP
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Devon
- District:
- North Devon (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Swimbridge
- National Grid Reference:
- SS6208130012
Summary
First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War, set within an enclosure formed by eight granite posts joined by chains.
Reasons for Designation
Swimbridge War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Historic interest:
* 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 well-crafted war memorial in the form of a granite obelisk enclosed by granite posts and chains.
Group value:
* it has group value with the Grade I listed Church of St James and its lychgate (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. 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: therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.
One such memorial was raised at Swimbridge as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War. The names of five parishioners who fell during the Second World War were subsequently added to the memorial. The date of construction is not known, however the war memorial was in place by the 1930s and is shown on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1956.
The memorial stands in the churchyard, to the north-west of the Church of St James (Grade I) and a short distance from the lychgate (Grade II).
Details
First World War memorial with later additions for the Second World War.
MATERIALS: constructed of granite.
DESCRIPTION: comprising a plain obelisk on a moulded capital above a substantial square tapered plinth and a two-stepped base. It sits inside a square enclosure formed by eight granite posts joined together by chains.
The main inscription reads: (south face) TO THE GLORIOUS DEAD/ (7 NAMES); (west face) (7 NAMES); (north face) 1914/ + / 1919; (east face) (7 NAMES). An additional inscription on a rectangular plaque attached to the north face of the plinth reads: 1939 1945/ (5 NAMES).
Sources
Websites
War Memorials Online - Swimbridge, accessed 25/03/2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/154259/
UK National Inventory of War Memorials - Swymbridge (Swimbridge), accessed 25/03/2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/25691
Other
North Devon Journal, Thursday 13 November 1930, p5
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 04-Jun-2026 at 12:56:29.
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.