The Obelisk is a Grade II* listed building in the Teignbridge local planning authority area, England. First listed on 2 December 1988. Obelisk.

The Obelisk

WRENN ID
nether-spire-shade
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Teignbridge
Constituency
Newton Abbot MP: Martin Wrigley (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
2 December 1988
Type
Obelisk
Address
The Obelisk, Mamhead
OS grid reference
SX 925 807
Coordinates
50.61653, -3.52059
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

The Obelisk is a landmark built in 1742 by Thomas Balle, who owned the Mamhead estate. It is constructed from grey limestone, featuring a rusticated plinth and an obelisk made of snecked ashlar limestone topped with a ball finial and a copper weathervane. The plinth is rectangular in shape, with a low base moulding and a hollow chamfered cornice beneath a convex base that supports the obelisk itself. The weathervane is designed in the shape of a flaming arrow and there is no inscription on the structure. The Obelisk is dramatically situated in the woodland above Mamhead House.

Local climate

The Obelisk receives an average of 870 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 63% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 82% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 11 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 90% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 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

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  • 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
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  10. Mamhead War Memorial Grade II 600 m