Manual Ref* SUseBE007 Show 2 images 680
Title*

Chequer Square Obelisk
County Suffolk   District Council St. Edmundsbury 
Civil Parish or equivalent Bury St. Edmunds  Town/Village* Bury St Edmunds 
Road Chequer Square 
Precise Location In the centre of chequer square, in front of the Norman arch, 
OS Grid Ref TL855640  Postcode IP33 
Previous location(s) The Horse Market, now called St. Mary's Square 
Setting In the centre of chequer square, a small square surrounded by Georgian buildings. Standing in front of the large Norman arch that once led to the Abbey.  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Unknown  Stonemason(s)   

Commissioned by

  

Design & Constrn period

  

Date of installing

 C.1750 

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type:

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Landing  Portland  H: 15cm x W: 100cm x D: 50cm 
Base  Portland Stone  H: 100cm x W: 95cm x D: 40cm 
Shaft  Portland Stone  H: 335cm x W: 50cm x D: 50cm 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 St. Edmundsbury Borough Council 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: Much of the detail on the panels has gone. It has been cleaned and restored in 1997.

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 Large stone obelisk, consisting of a base, and a shaft. Much of the detail has worn away, it is no longer possible to make out what was on the panels on the base. Where the shaft meets the base there are two curved pieces of stone at either side. 

Description (iconographical)

 The history is outlined by Richard Barnes: 'The obelisk once stood at the centre of the Horsemarket in St Mary's Square, a part of a huge fairsted, or market area, outside the abbey walls around angel Hill. The October Fair, which was outside the jurisdiction of the abbey and lasted for two weeks, was known to have been one of the greatest in England. The obelisk dated from after 1740, though within less than fifty years it was moved the short distance to Chequer Square, at the western end of the original market area, where it stand now.'  

Photographs

 Date taken:  9/2/2007
Date logged:  11/2/2007

Photographed by:
David Hulks

On Site Inspection

 Date:  9/2/2007

Inspected by:
Paul White and David Hulks

Sources and References

 Barnes, R., The Obelisk, a monumental feature in Britain,Kirstead, 1904, 40-41 

Database

 Date entered:  13/6/2007

Data inputter:
Paul White and Richard Cocke