The Obelisk is a Grade II listed building in the West Northamptonshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 9 December 1968. Obelisk. 2 related planning applications.
The Obelisk
- WRENN ID
- dusk-casement-heron
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Constituency
- Northampton North MP: Lucy Rigby (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 9 December 1968
- Type
- Obelisk
- Address
- The Obelisk, Kingsthorpe, NN2 8UB
- OS grid reference
- SP 753 652
- Coordinates
- 52.2799, -0.89687
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Obelisk is a white sandstone structure on a pedestal, standing about 100 feet high, making it the tallest in the area at approximately 450 feet above sea level. It was erected by Lord Strafford of Boughton Manor in memory of his friend, the 4th Duke of Devonshire, who was educated locally by his tutor, the Rector of Boughton. The obelisk originally featured an inscription stating: "This Obelisk was erected in the year 1764 in memory of His Grace William Cavendish Duke of Devonshire. There in the Rich, the Honour'd, Fam'd and Great, See the false seat of Happiness Compleat." William, the 4th Duke of Devonshire, served as Prime Minister from 1756 to 1757.
Local climate
The Obelisk sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 79% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 80% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 37 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 66% of listed buildings. Of these, 18 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
- Related listed building consents — 2 applications
- 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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