The Obelisk, Castle Howard
The Obelisk is a historic structure at Castle Howard, in North Yorkshire, in England.
The Ripon Obelisk, designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed in 1702, was the first obelisk erected in England since antiquity. Hawksmoor later designed Castle Howard, assisted by John Vanbrugh, and Vanbrugh designed his second obelisk, for the site where the approach road makes a right-hand turn. The structure was completed in 1714, and is about 80 metres (260 ft) tall. Vanbrugh later erected smaller obelisks elsewhere on the estate.[1][2]
The obelisk was grade I listed in 1954.[3] It was restored in 2004.[4] It is built of stone and has a square plan. It stands on a massive square base with a pulvinated cornice, and on the east and west sides are inscriptions.[3] The latter is now illegible, but it was a verse stating the intentions of Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, who commissioned the work on the estate:
- If to perfection these plantations rise
- If they agreeably my heirs surprise
- This faithful pillar will their age declare
- As long as time these characters shall spare
- Here then with kind remembrance read his name
- Who for posterity perform'd the same.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Jacques, David (2017). Gardens of Court and Country. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300222012.
- ^ a b Dixon Hunt, John (1992). Gardens and the Picturesque. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262581318.
- ^ a b "The Obelisk". National Heritage List for England. Historic England. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
- ^ Wainwright, Martin (9 March 2004). "18th century Egyptian folly restored". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2025.