The grey, granite obelisk stands about six
metres (twenty feet) high. On the base of the obelisk is a carved inscription in
gold lettering that reads:
Erected
to the memory
of
Robert
Waithman
by
his friends and
fellow citizens
MDCCCXXXIII
Fixed to the obelisk, above the inscription on
the base, is a plaque that reads:
'The friend of Liberty in
evil times'
Robert Waithman
Lord Mayor - 1823-4
Sheriff - 1820-1
Member of Parliament - 1818-20; 1826-33
Died - 1833
This monument was erected by his friends and fellow-citizens
At the base of the obelisk is a stainless steel
plaque that is etched with the words:
The environmental
improvements and landscaping to
Salisbury Square
were donated by Land Securities Plc to mark the 800th
anniversary of the Mayoralty of the City of London (1189-1989)
Officially dedicated on 24th July 1990 by
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor Sir Hugh Bidwell, GBE, DLit
Architects: epr Architects Ltd
Contractor: Tarmac Construction Ltd
Landscaping: City of London Parks and Gardens Department
The Cat's Meat Shop blog (visit
link) tells more of the obelisk:
"The Lost Obelisk of Ludgate
I've often wondered, looking at 19th C.
pictures of London, why there was an obelisk at Ludgate, when it got there, and
when it disappeared.
The obelisk is in the middle of the carriage-way, surrounded by railings and
(oil) lamps attached. The obelisk is still there, minus the lamps, at the end of
the century, even after the junction has been expanded to become 'Ludgate
Circus' in the 1860s.
A closer look at this picture actually reveals two obelisks, something I had not
realised. Fortunately, it doesn't take long to Google the answer.
The first of the two obelisks was, seemingly, erected in honour of 18th C.
politician John Wilkes (1727-97) but Public Sculpture in the City of London by
Philip Ward-Jackson (a book which I am now going to buy) tells us different:
'For over a century and a half after his death, it was believed ... that Wilkes
was commemorated by an obelisk with lights attached to it at the southern end of
Farringdon Street ... An inspection of the Corporation Records in 1949, however,
proved that this had originally been erected by the Blackfriars Bridge Committee
as a street lamp, and had had Wilkes' name placed on it only because it was put
up in his mayoralty. The obelisk had deteriorated to such an extent by this
time, that, when in the following year, an attempt was made to dismantle it, it
disintegrated.'
This is supported by various references in the press, and a final mention in the
Times that the obelisk was 'erected in 1775 by the Blackfriars Bridge Committee
to 'support four lamps to enlighten the footway'.' So much for obelisk no.1 (the
most southerly, nearest the bridge). What about the second one?
The same book, luckily, gives the answer. It was erected in 1833 to honour the
memory of the recently deceased Robert Waithman, a linen draper whose premises
were nearby. Waithman was also a prominent City of London politician, and was
voted City member of parliament in five successive elections; hence it's
understandable why future generations assumed the other obelisk was built to
honour another 'radical' politician, Wilkes.
There's a lovely piece in the Times about the opening of the monument, and why
it was contained by railings:
THE WAITHMAN OBELISK - Although it has been objected that the people of England
are too prone to destruction of works of art, and that England is the only
country in Europe where it is necessary to protect such works by iron railways,
and to request persons to leave their sticks and parasols below at exhibitions
of pictures, and to keep them at arm's length by bars, the committee and
architect of the Waithman's obelisk, in consideration of the extreme hardness of
the materials, and the broad simplicity of the design, had determined not to
enclose it with railing, but to give their fellow-citizens an opportunity of
redeeming this part of the national character. Yet a few hours had hardly passed
after opening it to the public when wanton curiosity, to ascertain whether it
was real granite or not, has injured and defaced the fine arrisses and points of
some of the bold Roman letters, and other parts of the sculpture, and dirty feet
marks are visible in clambering on the steps and cornice. The British nation
have now the disgrace of seeing this beautiful work of art enclosed by a
temporary chevaux de frise, till the committee surround it by an iron railing.
The Wilkes obelisk, as mentioned above, disintegrated. It was not only fragile
but 'sinking perceptibly into the gentlemen's lavatory beneath it.' The Waithman
memorial, however, survived. It was removed and replaced with the new innovation
of automatic traffic lights. It was sent to Bartholomew Close, near Aldersgate,
then moved again in 1975 to Salisbury Square / Salisbury Court.
It's still there today, somewhat unknown and unloved. I've seen it many times
and never realised its origin."
The Welsh Biography Online website (visit
link) gives a brief biography of Waithman:
"WAITHMAN
, ROBERT ( 1764 -
1833 ), lord mayor of London ;
b. at Wrexham in
1764 , the son of
John Waithman
, of Warton, Lancs. , a joiner
at the Bersham furnace , and of his wife,
Mary (
Roberts ) . He served in a linen-draper's shop
in London , and, about 1786 ,
opened a shop of his own, first in
Fleet Market , and then at 103 and 104 Fleet Street
. He m., on 14 July 1787 , his cousin,
Mary Davis .
He amassed a considerable fortune. Under the influence of the
French Revolution he became a strong advocate of
radical reform . He became Member of Parliament
for the city of London in 1818
, and again won the seat in 1826 , holding it until his
death. He was sheriff of London
and Middlesex in 1820 , and
lord mayor in 1823 . He d. on
6 Feb. 1833 , in Woburn Place ,
and was buried in the church of S. Bride's ,
Fleet Street ."