Seaton Delaval Obelisk

If you have ever visited Seaton Delaval Hall, walked down the Holywell waggonways or even driven down the Earsdon back roads, then this obelisk may have caught your eye.

Generally known as the Seaton Delaval Obelisk it is 18m tall and once sat within the grounds of Seaton Delaval Hall. It's currently 900m south from the hall itself.

The reason for the obelisk all depends on who you speak to and there are two stories.

Story 1

Admiral George Delaval fell from his horse on the avenue on 22nd of June 1723 and then was dragged with one foot trapped in a stirrup, across the fields and died at the location marked by this obelisk. There is also a stub of an obelisk marking where he initially fell on the avenue. (See more below).

Story 2

It is also claimed that the obelisk is just a landscape feature of the hall's pleasure grounds and would be a focal point for the Delavals and their guests to walk to when the weather was fine. It is perfectly aligned when viewed from the back porch.

Unfortunately the obelisk is now on private farmland so you can't get right up to it (We had to send Red5 drone in). If you follow the waggonways you can get to a fence which is around 300m from the obelisk and will give you a good view.

The second stub of an obelisk is viewable right on the New Hartley junction of the avenue, where George Delaval was unseated from his horse.

The What3Words for this one is ///wizards.fallen.glassware and here is a quick map for where it is.

The obelisk hasn't been ruined by time, it was actually dismantled by Hartley Mains due to mining subsidence.