The obelisk in Limavady, Carrick East

The Cenotaph at Carrick East Grid reference C696177

The Ballyquin

Obelisk

also known as:

The Ballyquin Monument, the Carrick East cenotaph
or the Beresford Monument

In the townland of Carrick East in Ballyquin, not far from the dolmen, the surprised passer-by can view this remarkable monument. It stands near the edge of a field and overlooks a large part of the Roe Valley. On clear days one can see it from the Country Park. Originally it measured 13ft. by 13ft. and was about 45ft. in height. The sides are lined up to face north, south, east and west.

It is in an excellent state of repair because it was renovated by the Follies Trust in 2015. The monument was erected in 1840 in memory of Henry Barre Beresford, a member of a powerful local family of landowners.

There are four tablets with inscriptions facing in the directions of the compass. They can be studied below:
 
An inscription
 another inscription
A new inscription
 The last inscription

As can be seen, two of the tablets are originals, the other two were beyond restoration and have been replaced, As the first two are rather difficult to read, we provide the texts below.

This pillar
was erected by the Tenants of
the Estate of the Most Noble the
Marquis of Waterford in this County
to comemorate the Virtues and Talents
that distinguished and adorned
their late Agent
 		Henry Barre Beresford Esqr. H.B.Beresford Esqr.,
Seventh son of the Rt Hon John Beresford
was born 25th Sept. 1781
at Walworth House in this County
Died in London
on the 15th of December 1837.
 
Either the spelling of the word "commemorate" has changed over the last 160 years or you are looking at a serious mis-chisel.

Seen fron the roadside


The remarkable structure blends beautifully into the countryside and from various points of the roads around, the traveller is pleasantly surprised by this unexpected reminder of the days gone by.
How to get there



Mind you, the access to the monument looks less prosaic and it is difficult to reach. Cars have to be parked alongside the road and access to the monument is via a very large field.
 

If you like to see what the monument looked like before the restoration, here is a link to the article I wrote about it some years ago:

The cenotaph in Carrick East

And here is a link to the Newsbrowser article about the restoration of the monument:

Newsbrowser June 2015


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