Obelisk

(relocated) St George's Obelisk - gone

St George's Obelisk - gone
St George's Obelisk - gone

Site: St George's Obelisk - gone (1 memorial)

SE1, Lambeth Road

We knew that the obelisk now at St George's Circus spent much of its life in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, from about 1897 - 1998, and now we have a photo of it there.

Wikipedia says the obelisk was at "the north apex of Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, (the remnant of Multon Close) a short distant southwest, in front of the museum .." But where exactly? This map shows something at the entrance to the grounds of, what was then, Bethlem Royal Hospital, but we think that indicates the gatehouse, which is still there.

The photo shows the obelisk at a corner with traffic lights, and the street sign reads "St George's Road". The buildings in the background provide other essential clues. We believe they are/were in Barkham Terrace. This was a Georgian terrace with a chapel in the middle. Upton Chapel is the pedimented building shown in the photo and the modern building with the distinctive banding near the top can be clearly seen in Streetview today. The chapel was damaged in WW2, demolished in 1952 and replaced with an extension to the modern building in exactly the same style. And the white, classical building at the left? This can only be the gatehouse at the entrance to the grounds of the Hospital. We were confused at first since all these buildings seem too close but we assume that's an effect of the lens used in the camera.

We thank Mark Brady for sharing this photo. We'd like to thank the source but Mark found it on the internet a long time ago and can't remember the website (we've all been there). And after we'd done all this photo-examination he sent us a map showing the location of the obelisk - exactly where we'd laboriously deduced it was.

See the obelisk at its current location for information about the inscriptions, etc.

Credit for this entry to: Mark Brady

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

Nearby Memorials

Steve Fairbairn

Steve Fairbairn

SW15, Putney Towpath Embankment

{Medallion on an obelisk, with a portrait:} Steve Fairbairn, 1862 1938. {Plaque beneath medallion:} This memorial commemorates the cen...

3 subjects commemorated, 4 creators
Thomas Paine obelisk

Thomas Paine obelisk

EC1, Angel Square

Erected on the 200th anniversary of the publication of Paine's "Rights of Man", written while Paine lived at the Angel Inn which used to ...

1 subject commemorated, 2 creators
Mitcham - drought relief obelisk

Mitcham - drought relief obelisk

CR4, Madeira Road, Cricket Green

The inscription is badly deteriorated, so we have copied the inscription from the Historic England website.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Hampstead War Memorial

Hampstead War Memorial

NW3, Spaniards Road

From the inscriptions it seems that the obelisk was created as a WW1 memorial and the flanking walls were added after WW2. We thank Davi...

2 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Woolwich Boer war memorial

Woolwich Boer war memorial

SE18, Grand Depot Road

{On the front face of the plinth:} To the glory of God Erected by the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the 61st Battery Roy...

War dead | Other war
20 subjects commemorated

Previously viewed

L. Johnson

L. Johnson

Treasurer of the British Legion Hornsey in 1929.

Person, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
The Blitz

The Blitz

During WW2 Britain came under heavy bombing from Germany for 8 months, 1940-1941. This was called 'the Blitz' from the German word Blitzkrieg meaning 'lightning war'. London was particularly badly ...

Event, Tragedy

53 memorials
W. J. Causton

W. J. Causton

Secretary of the British Legion Hornsey in 1929.

Person, Armed Forces

1 memorial