Obelisk, Urns and Seat Approximately 100 Metres to South West of Penn House is a Grade II listed building in the Buckinghamshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 12 March 1991. Monument.
Obelisk, Urns and Seat Approximately 100 Metres to South West of Penn House
- WRENN ID
- idle-spindle-river
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Buckinghamshire
- Constituency
- Chesham and Amersham MP: Sarah Green (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 12 March 1991
- Type
- Monument
- OS grid reference
- SU 923 948
- Coordinates
- 51.64466, -0.66677
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The obelisk, urns, and seat located approximately 100 meters to the south-west of Penn House is a monument built between 1733 and 1744 for Alexander Pope in memory of his mother. The urns are attributed to William Kent. Constructed from ashlar, the obelisk consists of stone slabs. The obelisk and two urns are arranged in a triangular formation, with a low stone curved bench on brick piers positioned between the urns. Each of the tall obelisk and urns features a stepped base, a plinth with a moulded base and cornice, while the urns are decorated with a spiral pattern and topped with conical finials.
Pope originally erected the monument at his house in Twickenham, known as Pope's Villa, in memory of his mother who passed away in 1733. The monument was relocated to its current site around 1830.
Local climate
Obelisk, Urns and Seat Approximately 100 Metres to South West of Penn House sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 710 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 86% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 87% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 59% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 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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- 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
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Pair of Pope Monuments, About 8 Metres North East of Couling Monument, in Churchyard of Church of St Mary the Virgin
- 2 John Pope Monument in the Churchyard of the Church of St John the Baptist, Circa 10 Metres South of the Chancel
- 3 Obelisk
- 4 Obelisk on Purdown at St 61797 77176, Approximately 450 Metres West of Stoke Park House
- 5 Nash Monument, Christ Church
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Gatepiers to South East Angle of Penn House
- Coach House to West of Penn House
- Penn House
- Stable Block to North West of Penn House
- Elm Cottage Gate Cottage
- Lodge Cottages
- Three Ranges of Outbuilding to North and North East of Pennhouse Farmhouse
- Barn to North West of Pennhouse Farmhouse
- Pennhouse Farmhouse
- Granary to West of Pennhouse Farmhouse