Information for record number MWA226:
Obelisk on Site of Chapel of St Leonard on Hoo Hill near Polesworth

Summary An obelisk situated on the site of the Chapel of St. Leonard, 350m south of the sewage works, Polesworth. It dates to the Imperial period.
What Is It?  
Type: Obelisk
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Polesworth
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SK 27 01
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Picture(s) attached

  
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Obelisk on site of St Leonard's Chapel (PRN 225).
2 The Obelisk on Hoo Hill carries the inscription "site of the Chapel of St Leonard at Hoo. Demolished 1538 30th Henry VIII".
3 The Obelisk was erected in 1846 at the time of the finding of the remains of the Chapel.
4 Photograph.
5 The Obelisk stands on the brow of a hill overlooking Polesworth. A brick base supports three brown sandstone steps, surmounted by a steeper step, a cuboid pedestal, and the Obelisk itself, all of blackened stone. The inscription reads as set out in
2 above. The story goes that during the construction of the Trent Valley Railway in 1847 workmen uncovered what might have been the bruial ground of the Chapel. When the Railway was widened, it is said, the Obelisk was moved to its present site for safety reasons. It is most likely to have been commissioned in the 1850s or early 1960s by the landowner, Sir George Chetwynd of Grendon Hall, perhaps at the suggestion of the Rev John Duff Schomberg, incumbent of Polesworth from around 1840-1864. Page 333 shows a colour photograph of the Obelisk and a 1880 survey which shows no sign of an Obelisk near the Railway.
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Descriptive Text
Title: Polesworth
Author/originator: Clark
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Map
Title: 06NW 1:10560 1885 CRO
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1885
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: OS Card 19SE11
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1953
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: 19SE11
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Record Card/Form
Title: SMR card: photograph
Author/originator:
Date: 2005
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
Obelisk marking the site of St Leonard's Chapel, Polesworth, North Warwickshire
Copyright: Warwickshire County Council
Date: 1977
Click here for larger image  
 
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source OS Card Ordnance Survey Record Card. Before the 1970s the Ordnance Survey (OS) were responsible for recording archaeological monuments during mapping exercises. This helped the Ordnance Survey to decide which monuments to publish on maps. During these exercises the details of the monuments were written down on record cards. Copies of some of the cards are kept at the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. The responsibility for recording archaeological monuments later passed to the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments. back
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument STONE * Use only where stone is natural or where there is no indication of function. back
monument OBELISK * A tall, tapering pillar with a pyramidal top, generally square on plan. Used in England from the late 16th century as a public, funerary or garden monument. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PEDESTAL * A concrete, cylindrical pedestal on which a spigot mortar was mounted. The pedestal is often the only evidence for a Spigot Mortar emplacement to survive. back
monument SEWAGE WORKS * A group of buildings in which local sewage is filtered and purified in large rectangular or circular tanks. back
monument CHAPEL * A freestanding building, or a room or recess serving as a place of Christian worship in a church or other building. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SIGN * A board, wall painting or other structure displaying advice, giving information or directions back
monument STEPS * A series of flat-topped structures, usually made of stone or wood, used to facilitate a person's movement from one level to another. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record