Entry Name: Prince of Orange Monument

Listing Date: 18 October 1949

Last Amended: 18 October 1993

Grade: II

Source: Historic England

Source ID: 1218728

English Heritage Legacy ID: 383743
(Formerly Listed as: Prince of Orange Monument on the New Pier BRIXHAM HARBOUR)

Obelisk with inset paving-stone. 1823; paving-stone reputedly 1688 or earlier. Granite obelisk, the 2 bottom steps of its plinth of pink Devonian limestone; paving-stone of local black and white marble.

An obelisk on a tapered moulded pedestal, this in turn standing on a plinth of 3 steps.

Set into the south-east face of the pedestal is a paving-stone incised with the inscription in worn letters: ON THIS STONE AND NEAR THIS SPOT WILLIAM PRINCE OF ORANGE FIRST SET FOOT ON HIS LANDING IN ENGLAND FIFTH NOVEMBER 1688.

Set into the north-west face is a local grey and pink polished marble plaque inscribed in gilt letters: THIS PLAQUE WAS UNVEILED BY HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN ON THE 21ST JULY 1988 TO COMMEMORATE THE TERCENTENARY OF THE LANDING OF PRINCE WILLIAM OF ORANGE AT BRIXHAM.

On top of the obelisk is an iron spike, probably originally carrying a finial or a lamp.

The paving-stone was reused for the landing at Brixham of the Duke of Clarence (late William IV) in 1823. Half of it was then set in this obelisk, the other half being carved with an inscription commemorating the Duke's visit and set up on the New Pier, where a copy of it can still be seen. A fragment was enclosed 'in a box of heart of oak 800 years old' and presented to the Duke.

The obelisk originally stood in the Fish Market on the east side of The Quay, close to King William's Steps (since demolished). It was moved to the New Pier in 1849 and back to The Quay in 1988.

(White W: History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Devonshire: Sheffield: 1850-: 426; Gregory C: Brixham in Devonia: Totnes: 1896-: 60).