Taynton War Memorial

Church of St Lawrence, Taynton Road, Taynton, Gloucestershire, GL19 3AN

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Overview

War memorial, erected in 1921.
Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1465071
Date first listed:
10-Jul-2019
List Entry Name:
Taynton War Memorial
Statutory Address:
Church of St Lawrence, Taynton Road, Taynton, Gloucestershire, GL19 3AN

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:
Listed Building
Grade:
II
List Entry Number:
1465071
Date first listed:
10-Jul-2019
List Entry Name:
Taynton War Memorial
Statutory Address 1:
Church of St Lawrence, Taynton Road, Taynton, Gloucestershire, GL19 3AN

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

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.

Understanding list entries

Corrections and minor amendments

Location

Statutory Address:
Church of St Lawrence, Taynton Road, Taynton, Gloucestershire, GL19 3AN

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County:
Gloucestershire
District:
Forest of Dean (District Authority)
Parish:
Taynton
National Grid Reference:
SO7370822159

Summary

War memorial, erected in 1921.

Reasons for Designation

Taynton War Memorial is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a well-executed example of a calvary cross war memorial.

Historic interest:

* as an eloquent witness to the tragic impact of world events on the local community, and the sacrifice that it made in the conflicts of the C20.

Group value:

* with the Church of St Lawrence (Grade II*) and a number of Grade II-listed monuments within the churchyard.

History

The great age of memorial building was in the aftermath of the First World War which 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, and therefore the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss.

In October 1919 the rector of Taynton, Reverend B K Foster, was given permission to erect a memorial cross in the churchyard of the Church of St Lawrence, along with a wooden memorial tablet in the church. The cost of the memorial, which was erected in 1921, was met by the parishioners.

Following the Second World War a dedication and the name of one man who had died in the conflict were added to the memorial.

In about 2013 metal plaques were fixed to the tread of the upper step of the base of the memorial. These are transcribed with the original inscriptions on the stone pedestal which are becoming difficult to read due to weathering.

Details

War memorial, erected in 1921.

MATERIALS: constructed of stone.

DESCRIPTION: located in the churchyard of the Church of St Lawrence (Grade II*) the memorial takes the form of a gabled calvary cross with an octagonal shaft, surmounted on a rectangular pedestal. The whole stands on a two-stepped, square base.

There is an inscription of the north face of the pedestal that reads:

IN PROUD MEMORY OF / THE MEN OF TAYNTON / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914–1918.

The names of the 24 parishioners that died in that conflict are inscribed on the west and east face of the pedestal.

The south face of the pedestal bears the inscription:

SECOND WORLD WAR / 1939–1945 / (1 NAME) / DIED ON ACTIVE SERVICE.

Sources

Websites
Taynton War Memorial, accessed 12 June 2019 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/49596
Taynton War Memorial, accessed 12 June 2019 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/75629

Other
'Taynton', Cheltenham Chronicle (11 October 1919), p.7

Legal

This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Ordnance survey map of Taynton War Memorial

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 12:58:56.

Download a full scale map (PDF)
© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. Use of this mapping is subject to Terms and Conditions.

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.

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