Obelisk to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (Sun Monument)

The obelisk dedicated to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was built in the 1730s to 1740s, likely by William Wentworth, Second Earl of Strafford, and was restored in 2008. It is made of sandstone ashlar.

The obelisk is positioned in front of a battlemented wall, marking the end of the views along Broad Avenue and Lady Augusta’s Walk to the east. It features a deep, square plinth and a square die with a moulded base and cornice, from which the obelisk rises to a pyramidal cap. On the front face of the die, there are two panels. The upper panel is a square, marble piece with a weathered inscription that has become largely unreadable. Below it, there is a 20th-century ashlar slab that contains a more legible inscription, which reads:

“TO THE MEMORY OF THE / RT HON LADY MARY / WORTLEY MONTAGU / WHO IN THE YEAR 1720 / INTRODUCED INOCULATION / OF THE SMALLPOX / INTO ENGLAND FROM TURKEY”

The pyramidal cap is topped with a bronze ball finial, added in 2008.