Obelisk
Category
Stone
Date
1839
Materials
Stone, Copper
Measurements
32 m (Height)
Collection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 733051
Summary
Obelisk of Bath stone bearing a memorial tablet and surmounted by a solar disc.
Provenance
1839 replacement for original obelisk built by Henry Hoare II in 1746.
Marks and inscriptions
Base of obelisk, north side. : Translated from the Latin: To the happy memory of Henry Hoare, bearer of arms, who first clothed these ridges of the estate with woods, adorned various buildings, brought water from springs into the nymphaeum and into a splendid form. He built the temples of Apollo, Flora and the Pantheon. He brought here the antiquated stone cross, a monument to distinguished English kings, from the town of Bristol where it once stood. He ordered to be placed on the hill visible from afar a tower in honour of Alfred, famous King of the West Saxons. He himself built the obelisk here as an example of the antique obelisks of Rome. Richard Colt Hoare, Baronet, grateful grandson and heir dedicated it in the year 1815.