Hartley Memorial Obelisk (North East Of Wildcroft Manor)

Obelisk erected from 1776 in memory of an invention for securing buildings against fire. The structure is built of red brick on a stone base, now set on a concrete slab, with inscriptions covering all four sides.

The obelisk was erected by the City of London to commemorate David Hartley's fireproofing invention, which consisted of plates of iron and copper placed between double floors. The first stone was laid by the Lord Mayor, John Sawbridge, on the centenary of the Great Fire of London. Experiments with the invention had been conducted in the presence of the Royal Family and pronounced successful, leading to the decision to erect this monument. The obelisk is attributed to George Dance.

The four inscribed faces record the official history of the commission. The north face bears the resolution of the Commons in Parliament from 14 May 1774, granting a sum not exceeding two thousand five hundred pounds to David Hartley to defray the costs of experiments to ascertain the practicability and utility of his invention for securing buildings from fire, confirmed by Act of Parliament in the 14th year of George III's reign. The south face records that John Sawbridge, Lord Mayor of London, laid the foundation stone of the obelisk one hundred and ten years after the Fire of London on the anniversary of that event. The west face contains a resolution from the Common Council held at Guildhall on 22 November 1776 empowering the committee of the City Lands to erect and complete the obelisk. The east face records that by order of the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common Council assembled on 22 November 1776, David Hartley was admitted into the freedom of the City in the Company of Goldsmiths, in consideration of the advantage likely to accrue to the public by his invention and for his respectful attention to the City in his repeated experiments. This entry is dated 26 March 1777.

The obelisk was formerly located in the grounds of Wildcroft Manor.