Wimborne Minster War Memorial

WIMBORNE MINSTER

1013/0/10005 HIGH STREET 23-FEB-09 WIMBORNE MINSTER WAR MEMORIAL

II War memorial. 1921, probably by C E Ponting. Of stone. It stands on three octagonal steps and has a moulded square plinth with broach stops. The inscription is carved within a laurel leaf wreath on the west side of the plinth and reads as follows: `TO THE FALLEN / IN THE GREAT WAR / 1914-1918 / WHOSE NAMES / ARE INSCRIBED / WITHIN THE / MINSTER.' Above, there is a tapering chamfered octagonal column with broach stops. Each of the four sides of the Decorated-style head contains carved figures within ogee crocketed niches. The representations are St George and the Dragon (south side), the Crucifixion (west), the Virgin and Child (east), and Saint Cuthburga (north). The head is topped by spiky crocketed pinnacles.

HISTORY Following an appeal which was launched in 1919, this war memorial was erected in November 1921 to commemorate those who died during the Great War. In its overall design it is very similar to the memorials at Gillingham and at Marnhull in North Dorset, which are both attributed to C E Ponting, the Diocesan Architect of Salisbury.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION The war memorial in Wimborne Minster is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It commemorates the dead from the First World War. * It is an elaborate design which has considerable architectural quality. * It has group value with the adjoining church which is listed at Grade I and adds considerably to the urban texture at the centre of the town.

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, 7 December 2016.