Summary

A war memorial of 1921 designed by Ernest Newton FRIBA.

Description

A war memorial cross of 1921 by Ernest Newton CBE RA FRIBA.

MATERIALS: constructed of York stone.

DESCRIPTION: the memorial is a freestanding cross on a square three-stepped base. The top two steps are moulded. The cross has a tapering octagonal shaft on a square base and moulded plinth. The top of the shaft has decorative banding and mouldings and a stone wheel cross atop an orb (the cross and orb are a later replacement). The square base is inscribed: TO THE/ HONOURED MEMORY OF/ THE MEN OF SHIREHAMPTON/ WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ (Names).

This List entry has been amended to add sources for War Memorials Online and the War Memorials Register. These sources were not used in the compilation of this List entry but are added here as a guide for further reading, 15 December 2016.

History

The war memorial to the men of Shirehampton Parish who died in the First World War was designed by Ernest Newton CBE RA FRIBA and constructed on land given to the parish by Philip Napier Miles of Kings Weston House. The house served as a military hospital during the Frist World War. The memorial was unveiled by Brigadier-General C. G. Bruce CMG DSO on 4 September 1921 and dedicated by the Archdeacon of Bristol.

A stone planter on the front bottom step is inscribed: TO THE MEN WHO FELL/ IN THE GREAT WAR/ 1914-1918/ FROM THE WOMENS SECTION/ SHIREHAMPTON AND DISTRICT/ BRITISH LEGION. The inscribed planter on the front step of the monument probably dates from 1957 when the Women’s Section of the British Legion agreed to maintain the surrounding memorial garden.

Subsequently, the bronze cross has been replaced with a plain stone cross.

Reasons for Listing

The war memorial at Shirehampton, Bristol is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as an eloquent witness to the tragic impacts of world events on this community, and the sacrifices it has made during the First World War;
* Architectural interest: a well-crafted cross design in dressed stone to the design of Ernest Newton;
* Intactness: the structure is largely unaltered;
* Group value: it provides an additional feature of note within the Kingsweston Estate (Registered at Grade II) dating from the ownership of the philanthropist Philip Napier Miles.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677828

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Development and Design of Heritage Sensitive Sites: Strategies for Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)