Manual Ref* SUipIP063 Show image 745
Title*

Obelisk
County Suffolk   District Council Ipswich Borough Council 
Civil Parish or equivalent Ipswich  Town/Village* Ipswich 
Road Friars Street 
Precise Location On pavement between Unitarian Meeting House and Willis Building 
OS Grid Ref TM165443  Postcode IP33 
Previous location(s)  
Setting Roadside  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Not known     

Commissioned by

 Borough of Ipswich 

Design & Constrn period

 2000 

Date of installing

  

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: Obelisk

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
Obelisk  Polished granite  H. 2.50 metres W. & D. 50 cm 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Ipswich Town 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:

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 2000 at top of obelisk 
Inscriptions Inscription facing Willis building: WILLIS/ Celebrating the/ 25th Anniversary/ of the opening of the/ Willis Building/ Serving the/World of Industry/ and Commerce(?)/ next under Latin cross: Signifying/two millennia of Christian history/ Jesus said ‘Love one another/ as I have loved you.’/ Gospel of St John/Chapter 15 verse 12/ Rear Under chalice :Celebrating the 300th Anniversary/ of the Opening of/ The Unitarian/Meeting House/ ‘Where we meet not/only one with another/ but all with God.’/Reverend John Fairfax. April 26th 1700 North side under Coat of Arms of Borough Marking the/ 800th Anniversary/ of the/ Borough of Ipswich/ under the Charter/ granted by King John/ ‘Serving the/ community/ of Ipswich 

Description (physical)

 An elegant polished obelisk set just off the pavement between Foster's Willis building, completed in 1975, and the Unitarian Meeting Chapel by Joseph Clarke of 1700 

Description (iconographical)

 Each side commemorates an event: the 2000th birthday of Christ, the 300th birthday of the Unitarian Meeting Chapel, the 800 years since the granting of the Charter to Ipswich, sent King John from France in June 1200, and 25 years of trading at Willis. Lord Foster's Willis building was listed as grade I in 1991, an exceptional honour for a contemporary building matching the Unitarian Meeting House opposite 

Photographs

 Date taken:  24/5/2006
Date logged: 

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  24/5/2006

Inspected by:
Richard Cocke

Sources and References

  

Database

 Date entered:  18/12/2007

Data inputter:
Richard Cocke