Blow the wind southerly.

I think this dates from around 1900, and is a sewage ventilation pipe, or a part thereof. I think the idea was to stop the build up of dangerous gases. There are still a few dotted round town, and they're Grade II Listed.
This wasn't my intended blip, but the rain stopped me going out or having a bike ride. 
After getting everything ready, we are both feeling very disappointed learning we cannot now be with our children for Xmas. As a protected NHS worker, our daughter has her own covid kits for testing twice a week, so it's particularly frustrating. It's almost certainly the right decision, but sorry to sound glum.