Queen Anne's Obelisk, Off Rockley Lane, Wentworth Castle, South Yorkshire

Queen Anne's Obelisk, located off Rockley Lane in Wentworth Castle, South Yorkshire, dates back to 1734. It is believed to have been designed by James Gibbs and constructed by Joseph Bower and the Bower family, who were estate masons for Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford. The obelisk is made of sandstone ashlar.

The structure features a two-step plinth and a deep, square die with a projecting band, from which the robust obelisk rises, culminating in a pyramidal cap. On the east side, facing the road, there is an inscription that reads:

‘To the PIOUS / GLORIOUS (both lines damaged by stone scaling) / and immortal memory of / Queen ANNE / this (word damaged by stone scaling) Obelisk was erected / by (word damaged by stone scaling) her faithful Minister / Thomas (name damaged by stone scaling) WENTWORTH Earl of STRAFFORD / Viscount WENTWORTH of WENTWORTH / WOODHOUSE, and of STAINBROUGH, / Baron of RABY, NEWMARCH and OVERSLEY, / and Knight of the (two words damaged by stone scaling) most noble order of the Garter ‘1734.’

On the south side, another inscription states:

‘Which said EARL / at the death of that most / Excellent PRINCESS / Was one of the seven appointed by act / of PARLIAMENT to be REGENTS of the / KINGDOME during (two words damaged by stone scaling) the absence of the / SUCCESSOR as (two words damaged by stone scaling) first Lord of the admiral- / ty of great BRITAIN (two words damaged by stone scaling) and IRELAND, was / likewise Lieu: (two words damaged by stone scaling) General of all her Majesty’s / Forces’ Colonel of the first and Royal Regt / of Dragoons was of the Cabinet and Privy / Councel Ambassador Extraordinary to the / States’ General and likewise Plenipotentiary / for the Congress and peace of UTRECHT.’

Surrounding the base of the obelisk are 16 low, octagonal bollards arranged in a circle, although one has been displaced and another is broken as of 2016.