Olveston War Memorial with associated steps and flanking dwarf walls

The Olveston War Memorial, erected in 1920, was designed by architect Sir Reginald Blomfield, with associated steps and dwarf walls created by Bristol architect Graham Awdry.

The memorial is made of carved stone and features bronze long swords and plaques. It is located in the south-east corner of the churchyard of St Mary’s Church, at the intersection of Church Hill and The Street. The structure takes the form of a Cross of Sacrifice, with inset bronze long swords on the front and back faces. The octagonal cross and shaft rest on an octagonal base, plinth, and platform, each one larger in diameter than the last.

At the bottom of the shaft, there is a bronze plaque inscribed with:

IN / COMMEMORATION / OF / THE VE / VJ / 50TH ANNIVERSARY / CELEBRATIONS / 1995

Additionally, on the south-east side of the base, there is another plaque that reads:

THIS CROSS / IS ERECTED BY / THE PARISHIONERS OF OLVESTON / TO THE GLORY OF GOD / AND IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY / OF THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES / FOR THEIR COUNTRY / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918 / THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

Flanking the base are plaques listing the names of the 33 men who died in the First World War. A small plaque beneath the left plaque is inscribed with the name WILLIAM EDWARD LANSDOWN (KOREA), and to the left, there is another plaque commemorating four men who died in the Second World War.

The memorial is accessed from Church Hill via a flight of four stone steps arranged in a demi-octagon, which are flanked by dwarf walls topped with large chamfered coping stones. The rounded ends of the walls feature ‘bun'-shaped finials.