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Illminster
Town or City: Illminster
County: Somerset
Country: England
WMT Reference Number: WM1410
Value of grant: £1100.00
Type of memorial: Freestanding
Type of work: Conservation and repair
Grant scheme: English Heritage/Wolfson Foundation Grants
Year: 2005
UKNIWM reference number: 24997
Illminster war memorial calvary stands in the Minster churchyard within the conservation area of Ilminster. The Portland stone carving of Christ on the Cross is surmounted by a gabled canopy, the shaft is suported on a four stepped octagonal base of grey Doulting stone.
The memorial has received multiple grants and the summary details of this record relate to the most recent grant.
In 1998 it was identified that that the memorial was beginning to lean due to settlement beneath the concrete pad on which it stood. War Memorials Trust provide £175.00 thorugh the Small Grants Scheme towards conservation efforts.
A further Small Grant in 2004 of £300.00 was awarded towards the cost of site inspection and preparation of a Conservation Report as a precursor to restoration work in the future to fix the tilt and repairs to stonework.
On 20th January 2005 the memorial was give Grade II Listed Building status. Any work proposed on the memorial following this may require Listed Building Consent and any proposals would need to eb checked with the Council.
Following this report a grant of £1,100 was awarded in 2005 through the Grants for War Memorials Scheme funded by English Heritage and The Wolfson Foundation towards stage I of the repair project. This involved cleaning and repairs to the memorial. Further monitoring of the structural condition is being undertaken to assess appropriate next steps.
The memorial was dedicated on 10th June 1917; at that time the final date on the inscription was left blank to be completed at the end of the war. The sculptor was Herbert Reed and the designer F. Bligh Bond. Mr Reed was paid in the appeal £127-14-1 leaving £17 in the appeal fund for a Roll of Honour in the Church. There are now two matching name plaques in the Church for each of the World Wars.
The inscription on the memorial reads:
1914 - 1918 To the brave men of Ilminster who gave their lives for their county in the Great War
Within the Church are graven their deathless names
Further information
War Memorials Trust reference WM1410
UK National Inventory of War Memorials:
If you have a concern about this memorial please contact the Trust on conservation@warmemorials.org
