File:The obelisk, St. George's Circus, now being removed - The Graphic 1905.png

THE PASSING OF THE OBELISK The old Obelisk at the southern end of Blackfriars Road, which was erected by the City Corporation in 1771 in the centre of what were then St. George’s Fields, at a spot exactly one mile from Westminster Hall, one mile and 40 feet from London Bridge, and one mile 350 feet from Fleet Street, “to serve as milestone, to which lamps might be attached,” is in course of demolition. It is to make way for a new clock tower, which is to be erected on the same spot by the Southwark Borough Council, at the expense of Messrs. W. B. and F. Faulkner, of the well-known tobacco firm. The new landmark for South London will be a massive square tower in Portland stone, with a 14-foot square base of rockface granite. The tower will rise to height of 67 feet, or more than double the height of the present ()belisk, which is only 30 feet high. At the top will he a clock with four faces of four feet diameter, striking the hours and quarters in the style known as the Horse Guards’ chimes. The new tower will form one of the best-lighted spots in South London. Not only will each clock face be illuminated from the interior, but from each corner of the tower, at a height of 30 feet from the ground, will be suspended a powerful electric arc lamp of 4,000 candle-power, attached to a beautifully designed wrought-iron bracket. The architect is Mr. Jan. F. Groll, of Tooting, who was awarded the first prize for his design in an open competition which attracted no fewer than 106 contestants. The sculpture-work will executed by Mr. G. S. Arrowsmith, whoso work in connection with the Belfast Cathedral and the new Waldorf Theatre is well known. The new clock tower will cost something over ,£3,000. The old Obelisk, which is being carefully taken down in pieces, is to be erected again almost immediately at the St. George’s Road corner of the grounds of Bethlehem Hospital, which are situated only a few yards distant. The new tower will be completed about Christmas.