H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the American Prisoner of War Cemetery is a Grade II listed building in the Dartmoor National Park local planning authority area, England. First listed on 18 April 2016. Memorial.

H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the American Prisoner of War Cemetery

WRENN ID
upper-vault-myrtle
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Dartmoor National Park
Constituency
Torridge and Tavistock MP: Sir Geoffrey Cox (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
18 April 2016
Type
Memorial
Address
H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the American Prisoner of War Cemetery, Yelverton, Devon, Dartmoor Forest, West Devon, PL20 6RR
OS grid reference
SX 588 741
Coordinates
50.55045, -3.99423
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

H M Prison Dartmoor features an obelisk memorial erected between 1886 and 1888 to honor the American soldiers who died while held as prisoners of war at Dartmoor Prison during the Anglo-American War of 1812 to 1815.

The memorial is made of Dartmoor granite and is designed as an obelisk set on a circular base, with central steps leading up to it. It stands on a slightly raised bed covered with gravel. Historically, as depicted in a photograph from around 1900, the obelisk was originally placed on a stone rubble base that formed a rockery, which was planted with ferns.

The front of the memorial is inscribed with the words: 'IN - MEMORY - OF THE - AMERICAN - PRISONERS - OF WAR - WHO DIED - BETWEEN THE - YEARS - 1809 & 1814 - AND LIE - BURIED HERE - DULCE ET - DECORUM EST - PRO PATRIA - MORI'. Below this inscription is the bronze star and anchor emblem of the US Daughters of 1812, which was added in 1987.

Local climate

H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the American Prisoner of War Cemetery sits in a wetter-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 970 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 76% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 78% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 31 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 61% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

See all similar buildings →

this building   1 similar   nearby listed buildings

Nearby listed buildings

  1. H M Prison Dartmoor: Commemorative Gate to the American Prisoner of War Cemetery Grade II 76 m
  2. H M Prison Dartmoor: E Wing Grade II 93 m
  3. H M Prison Dartmoor: Obelisk in the French Prisoner of War Cemetery Grade II 93 m
  4. H M Prison Dartmoor: Former Chapel and Service Building Complex Grade II 117 m
  5. H M Prison Dartmoor: C and D Wings Grade II 134 m
  6. H M Prison Dartmoor: Inner Gateway, Former Guard's Rooms, Carriage Way and Perimeter Wall Grade II 160 m
  7. H M Prison Dartmoor: The Old Kitchen Grade II 164 m
  8. H M Prison Dartmoor: F and G Wings Grade II 170 m
  9. H M Prison Dartmoor: A and B Wings Grade II 196 m
  10. H M Prison Dartmoor: wall enclosing the former marketplace Grade II 210 m