Ordnance Survey Obelisk is a Grade II listed building in the Waltham Forest local planning authority area, England. First listed on 24 February 1987. A C19 Monument.

Ordnance Survey Obelisk

WRENN ID
wild-lead-heron
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Waltham Forest
Constituency
Chingford and Woodford Green MP: Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
24 February 1987
Type
Monument
Address
Ordnance Survey Obelisk, Pole Hill E4
OS grid reference
TQ 383 949
Coordinates
51.63634, -0.00157
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Ordnance Survey Obelisk is a granite monolith erected in 1824, standing over eight feet high. It features battered sides and a flat top, with an inscribed plaque inset. This obelisk was established to indicate the direction of true north from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Notably, the meridian was altered in 1850, and the point of zero now lies 19 feet to the east of the obelisk.

Local climate

Ordnance Survey Obelisk sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 680 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 99% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 30 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 65% of listed buildings. Of these, 13 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

See all similar buildings →

this building   1 similar   nearby listed buildings

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Chingford War Memorial Grade II 536 m
  2. Church of St Peter and St Paul Churchyard Gates and Gatepiers (North of Church) Grade II 575 m
  3. Chingford United Reformed Church Grade II 582 m
  4. Carbis Cottage Grade II 583 m
  5. Church of St Peter and St Paul Grade II* 604 m
  6. Church of St Peter and St Paul Churchyard Gate and Gatepiers (South of Church) Grade II 657 m
  7. The Bull and Crown Public House Grade II 697 m
  8. Church of Our Lady of Grace and St Teresa of Avila Grade II 714 m
  9. Pimp Hall Dovecote Grade II 1.2 km
  10. Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge Grade II* 1.3 km