War Memorial at the Church of St John the Baptist
St John's Church, Lower Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2AG
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1492402
- Date first listed:
- 17-Jul-2025
- List Entry Name:
- War Memorial at the Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address:
- St John's Church, Lower Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2AG
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Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1492402
- Date first listed:
- 17-Jul-2025
- List Entry Name:
- War Memorial at the Church of St John the Baptist
- Statutory Address 1:
- St John's Church, Lower Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2AG
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 John's Church, Lower Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2AG
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- North Somerset (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Weston-Super-Mare
- National Grid Reference:
- ST3177361925
Summary
A First World War memorial in the form of an elegant lantern cross. Unveiled in July 1922.
Reasons for Designation
The war memorial in St John’s Churchyard 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 made in the conflicts of the C20.
Architectural interest:
* taking the form of an elegant lantern cross, it is a sombre and dignified memorial standing prominently in the churchyard.
Group value:
* with the Grade II-listed Church of St John, and particularly for the marble tablet Roll of Honour contained within.
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 the official policy of not repatriating the dead, meaning that the memorials provided the main focus of the grief felt at this great loss. One such memorial was raised at the Church St John 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 Langport and Somerton Herald included a report on the unveiling of the memorial by the Bishop of Taunton in July 1922. In addition to the churchyard cross, a polished marble tablet was hung within the church (listed at Grade II), inscribed with the names of 83 parishioners.
Details
First World War Memorial, 1922.
MATERIALS: limestone.
PLAN: the memorial stands in the churchyard to the south of the church, close to the entrance on the west.
DESCRIPTION: a lantern cross on a tapering octagonal shaft. Square stone pedestal with chamfered angles, upon a four-stepped octagonal base. The plinth bears the inscription: ‘IN THANKFUL REMEM- / BRANCE OF THE MEN / OF THIS PARISH AND / CONGREGATION / WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914 -1918’.
Sources
Websites
St John’s Church, Weston Super Mare, War Memorials Online, accessed 14/11/2024 from https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/204767/
St John the Baptist Church, Imperial War Museums War Memorials Register, accessed 14/11/2024 from https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/1328
Other
‘A Weston-Super-Mare War Memorial’, Langport and Somerton Herald, 5 August 1922, 2
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 14-Dec-2025 at 09:20:54.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2025. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2025. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry