Select pages - there are more than 4 available

Penshaw Monument.

The Penshaw Monument (officially the Earl of Durham's Monument) is a memorial in the style of an ancient Greek temple on Penshaw Hill in the metropolitan borough of the City of Sunderland, North East England. It is located near the village of Penshaw, between the towns of Washington and Houghton-le-Spring in historic County Durham. The monument was built between 1844 and 1845 to commemorate John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (1792–1840), Governor-General of British North America and author of the Durham Report on the future governance of the American territories. Owned by the National Trust since 1939, it is a Grade I listed structure.

Monumenta Masonic

John George Lambton (born 1792) was the son of William Henry Lambton and Lady Anne Barbara Frances Villiers. He attended Eton College, then joined the 10th Royal Hussars in 1809. Lambton became Member of Parliament for County Durham in 1813; politically, he had a reputation for radicalism and proposing electoral reform, earning him the nickname "Radical Jack". In 1828 he was raised to the peerage, becoming Baron Durham. In 1830 Durham was made Lord Privy Seal in Earl Grey's cabinet and was charged with producing a draft of the bill that became the Reform Act 1832. He resigned his position in 1833, and was created Earl of Durham shortly afterwards. He was a Freemason and became Deputy Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1834.

After an illness lasting several months, thought to be tuberculosis, he died on 28 July 1840 in Cowes, Isle of Wight. On 3 August, his body was taken in his own yacht to Sunderland, then in a steamship to Lambton Castle. His funeral took place on 10 August, and was attended by over 300 Freemasons; they wanted to perform a Masonic ceremony for the occasion, but were asked not to do so by Durham's family.

At a meeting at the Lambton Arms pub in Chester-le-Street on 19 August 1840, it was decided to form a Provisional Committee to raise funds for a monument to the Earl by subscription. The next day, at the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle, a committee of 33 men was formed for that purpose; it included the mayors of Newcastle and Gateshead. The chairman of the committee was Henry John Spearman.

Around £500 (equivalent to £48,000 in 2021) was pledged at this meeting.

The number 33 - coincidence or design?

£48,000 is a lot of money!

At another meeting at the Bridge Hotel in Sunderland on 28 January 1842, William Hutt MP proposed that "the monument should be of an architectural character", and suggested Penshaw Hill as a location because it was the Earl's property, and the monument would be visible from much of County Durham and close to the East Coast Main Line. Durham's wife had expressed support for this site before her death. According to The Times, "a more suitable spot for the erection of a monument to the late lamented Earl could not have been selected". Hutt hoped to erect a statue of Durham, and read out a letter from a sculptor who had offered to make one. By this point, around £3000 (equivalent to £300,000 in 2021) had been subscribed. More money was later raised by a London-based committee.

£300,000 is a massive amount of money! It seems way too much. A simple monument wouldn't need that amount of money.

The committee sought advice from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London. Its secretary, Thomas Leverton Donaldson, advised approaching five or six skilled architects named by the Institute privately, rather than advertising publicly for designs. Donaldson told Hutt that if a public call for designs was made, the most skilled architects would not compete. The Institute surveyed Penshaw Hill and produced instructions to the architects, which described the hill and indicated subscribers' preference for a column. The instructions stated that the project could not cost more than £3000. Six of the designs submitted to the committee were exhibited at the institute's premises in London before they were seen in the north. These were all either columns or obelisks, each topped with a statue of the Earl. At a meeting in Sunderland on 8 July 1842, subscribers examined proposals by seven architects.

The number 7 - coincidence or design?.

The proposals were:

A Greek temple

John Augustus Cory—Two designs: a column in the style of Italianate architecture; and a column based on those of the Temple of Hephaestus. Both Cory's column and the final temple design were based on the Temple of Hephaestus, Athens.

Thomas Leverton Donaldson—Design unknown

Harvey Lonsdale Elmes—Two designs: a Grecian column topped by a temple containing an urn; and a column with projecting balconies in imitation of a Roman rostral column

Charles Fowler—A Norman column, similar to those in the nave of Durham Cathedral

Arthur Mee—A column; details unknown

John Buonarotti Papworth—An obelisk, with a bronze statue and sarcophagus at the front

Robert Wallace—A Doric column, 4.0 metres (13 ft) in diameter, based on those of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento and topped with a podium and a metal tripod

Some present at the meeting were unhappy that the preference for a column had been expressed—one felt that "it would have been better to have left the genius of the artists unfettered", and another wished to receive more designs before a decision was made. There was some consternation that the building of the monument was not taking place as quickly as had been anticipated. The Durham Chronicle disapproved of the proposed designs, writing that "a column, standing in solitary nakedness, is a palpable absurdity". It criticised the designs of Grey's Monument and Nelson's Column, believing them to belong to "the candlestick style of monumental architecture", and wrote that the monument to the Earl of Durham should be "lofty, massive, durable, and distinctive—simple in its features, and grand in its general effect".

On 8 November 1842, an executive committee with the power to choose a design and begin construction of the monument was formed in Newcastle. In May 1843, the committee met to consider new designs that it had received, and decided to recommend John and Benjamin Green's proposal of a Grecian Doric temple to subscribers. By July, the design had been officially selected. The Greens were father and son, and also designed Grey's Monument and the Theatre Royal in Newcastle. The initial design was in the style of the temples of Paestum, with an arrangement of four by six columns; this was later changed to one based on the Temple of Hephaestus. It was envisaged that the hill would become an enclosed pleasure garden after the monument's construction.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penshaw_Monument#cite_note-tender1-70

So why choose a small copy of a Greek building? A simpler monument would have served the purpose. There are no dedications to J .G. Lambton on the monument (which is strange) so it just becomes a 'folly' in the minds of visitors who don't know the story.

The pleasure gardens were never built and the monument was taken over by the National Trust in 1939.

It has been rumoured that the Freemasons used the monument for ceremonies; but given its prominent location, that is not a realistic idea. It's also completely open and has no roof!

The Temple of Hephaestus still has its roof and the columns are fluted; unlike the block-built ones of Penshaw Monument.

Penshaw Monument (which is rarely called by its official name, (The Earl of Durham’s Monument) contains a secret spiral staircase in one of its pillars. Climbing the walkway leads to impressive views from atop the 70-foot-tall folly, which was built in 1844.

The staircase was closed after a 15-year-old boy fell to his death in the 1920s. It remained shuttered for nine decades, though vandals did break the lock in the mid-1960s, leading to a brief period of unrestricted access. The National Trust, which now maintains the monument, reopened the staircase in 2011 to visitors, though it can only be used on designated open days (on those days, there is a £5 fee just to climb the stairs).

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/penshaw-monument

Link

The hidden spiral staircase.

The inclusion of a spiral staircase in one of the columns is very strange. It gives access to a narrow walkway on only one side of the structure. To access the other side it is necessary to climb across the angled masonry arches at the narrow edges; which is quite dangerous and it was from here that a young boy fell to his death.

The door that leads into the column and the spiral staircase. Perhaps all of the columns are hollow?

Keith Cockerill atop the monument on Aug. 29, 2011.

Images source: http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/sunderland018.html

Link

People climbing from one side to the other using the masonry arch.

Death on the monument.

Temperley Arthur Scott, 15 years old, & a friend of his, went around the walkway twice. And they started on a third circuit, watched by Mitchell & Hind, two of their friends, both sitting on the edge of the peak - I presume that that means with their feet dangling over the edge. 'Scott was hurrying to reach his companions, when he stumbled and fell, he rolled over once and then disappeared over the edge of the monument.’ It was 70 ft. or 20 metres to the ground below. He fell onto rocks, I presume, & was killed.

There was an inquest, held on Apl. 26, 1926, & reported in the 'Sunderland Echo'. It was the first such accident in all of the monument's 82 years, the hearing was advised. Deputy Coroner Boulton returned a verdict of Accidental Death, and said:- 'that it was a terrible accident to have occurred and they must have the greatest sympathy with the parents of the boy'. He suggested:- 'that iron railings with spikes should be put up at the sides to prevent people getting round and if that could not be done then he could only suggest that the place be locked up and the public not admitted.’

And the place was locked up. From then to this very day. With some most rare exceptions (see next para). Or was it always so? Which brings us back to our site visitor who states that he was running around the top (of the monument) 'in 1948, 1949 or 1950'.

Source:

http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/sunderland018.html

The 'Illustrated London News' in 1844 published an engraving which purported to show the laying of the 'Foundation Stone' of the 'Durham Monument' on 'Pensher Hill'.

The structure is depicted as being well advanced in construction; so there was no need for a foundation stone!

It is clear that the 'temple' was never finished, so why dedicate it to a local dignitary?

The whole story doesn't make sense.

Image source: http://www.searlecanada.org/sunderland/sunderland018.html

Photography in the 1800's

There should be photographs of the construction of the Penshaw Monument as there was photographic equipment around at the time; but all we get is an engraving that doesn't look like the monument and seems more like propaganda.

1800 Empire State camera with Dallymere lens and large format glass negative holder.

Shields Road, Heaton, Newcastle. Photographed in the 1800's.

Newcastle Quayside photographed in the 1800's.

The Lambton Worm.

The Lambton Worm is a legend from County Durham in north-east England. The story takes place around the River Wear, and is one of the area's most famous pieces of folklore, having been adapted from written and oral tradition into pantomime and song formats.

The Story of the Lambton Worm.

The story of the Lambton Worm states that a young John Lambton was a rebellious character who missed church one Sunday to go fishing in the River Wear. In many versions of the story, while walking to the river, or setting up his equipment, John receives warnings from an old man (or a witch – depending on who tells the story) that no good can come from missing church.

John Lambton does not catch anything until the church service finishes, at which point he fishes out a small eel- or lamprey-like creature with nine holes on each side of its salamander-like head. Depending on the version of the story, the worm is no bigger than a thumb, or about 3 feet (90 centimetres) long. In some renditions it has legs, while in others it is said to more closely resemble a snake.

At this point, the old man returns, although in some versions it is a different character. John declares that he has "catched (caught) the devil" and decides to dispose of his catch by discarding it down a nearby well. The old man then issues further warnings about the nature of the beast.

John then forgets about the creature and eventually grows up. As a penance for his rebellious early years, he joins the Crusades.

Eventually, the worm grows extremely large and the well becomes poisonous. The villagers start to notice livestock going missing and discover that the fully-grown worm has emerged from the well and coiled itself around a local hill.

In most versions of the story, the worm is large enough to wrap itself around the Penshaw Hill seven times; the hill on which the Penshaw Monument now stands.

The worm terrorises the nearby villages, eating sheep, preventing cows from producing milk, and snatching away small children. It then heads towards Lambton Castle, where the Lord (John Lambton's aged father) manages to sedate the creature in what becomes a daily ritual of offering the worm the milk of nine good cows – twenty gallons, or a filled trough.

A number of brave villagers try to kill the beast, but are quickly dispatched. When a chunk is cut off the worm, it simply reattaches the missing piece. Visiting knights also try to assault the beast, but none survive. When annoyed, the worm uproots trees by coiling its tail around them, then creates devastation by waving around the uprooted trees like a club.

The vanquishing of the worm

After seven years, John Lambton returns from the Crusades to find his father's estates almost destitute because of the worm. John decides to fight it, but first seeks the guidance of a wise woman or witch near Durham.

The number 7 - it crops up a lot in stories.

The witch hardens John's resolve to kill the beast by explaining his responsibility for the worm. She tells him to cover his armour in spearheads and fight the worm in the River Wear, where it now spends its days wrapped around a great rock. The witch also tells John that after killing the worm he must then kill the first living thing he sees, or else his family will be cursed for nine generations and will not die in their beds.

John prepares his armour according to the witch's instructions and arranges with his father that, when he has killed the worm, he will sound his hunting horn three times. On this signal, his father is to release his favourite hound so that it will run to John, who can then kill the dog and thus avoid the curse.

John Lambton then fights the worm by the river. The worm tries to crush him, wrapping him in its coils, but it cuts itself on his armour's spikes; the pieces of the worm fall into the river, and are washed away before they can join up again. Eventually, the worm is dead and John sounds his hunting horn three times.

The Lambton curse

Unfortunately, John's father is so excited that the beast is dead that he forgets to release the hound and rushes out to congratulate his son. John cannot bear to kill his father and so, after they meet, the hound is released and dutifully dispatched. But it is too late and nine generations of Lambtons are cursed so they shall not die peacefully in their beds. Thus, the story ends.

This curse seems to have held true for at least three generations, possibly helping to contribute to the popularity of the story.

1st generation: Robert Lambton, drowned at Newrig.

2nd: Sir William Lambton, a Colonel of Foot, killed at Marston Moor.

3rd: William Lambton, died in battle at Wakefield.

9th: Henry Lambton, died in his carriage crossing Lambton Bridge on 26 June 1761.

Severed heads of four giant dragons lie on a lawn at Wallington Hall in Northumberland.

LEARN MORE

Seven Gates.

The dragons at Wallington Hall, were once part of a group of sculptures that stood on top of one of the gates that guarded the City of London, Bishopsgate. Too narrow for London’s growing traffic, the gate was demolished only thirty years after its erection in the 1730s.

Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, the owner of the Wallington estate, bought the dragons as architectural salvage, along with other bits of sculpture and shipped them as ballast on a coal barge up the coast to Newcastle.

The seven Gates of London are said to be:

1. Aldgate – leading to Colchester and Essex

2. Bishopsgate – leading to Shoreditch and up towards Cambridge along the old Ermine Street.

3. Moorgate – Not an original Roman gate, it was more than likely a postern in Roman times only becoming a gate in 1415. The gate led to the Moorfields a marshy area north of the city.

4. Cripplegate – Leading to the village of Islington.

5. Aldersgate – leading towards St. Bartholomews Abbey, Smithfield Market and London Charterhouse. Aldersgate was thought to have replaced a previous gate to the west of the city.

6. Newgate – leading towards Oxford and the west.

7. Ludgate – leading towards Bath and the South West.

The city of Thebes in Egypt is alleged to have had seven gates in its surrounding wall: Elektrai, Homoloides, Proitides, Ogygiai, Borraiai, Neistai, Hypsistai, Onkaiai.

https://londonwiki.co.uk/LondonGates.shtml

https://inspiringcity.com/2013/04/13/the-seven-gates-of-london/

Ludgate.

According to legend Ludgate is named after King Lud. The claim by the Norman-Welsh Geoffrey of Monmouth in his Historia Regum Britanniae that the gate was named after the ancient British Lud. Lud was said to be the brother of King Cassivelaunus but some folklorists think he is a manifestation of the god Nodens.

Lud (Welsh: Lludd map Beli Mawr), according to Geoffrey of Monmouth's legendary History of the Kings of Britain and related medieval texts, was a king of Britain in pre-Roman times who founded London and was buried at Ludgate. He was the eldest son of Geoffrey's King Heli, and succeeded his father to the throne. He was succeeded, in turn, by his brother Caswallon (Latinised as 'Cassibelanus'). Lud may be connected with the Welsh mythological figure Lludd Llaw Eraint, earlier Nudd Llaw Eraint, cognate with the Irish Nuada Airgetlám, a king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the Brittonic god Nodens. However, he was a separate figure in Welsh tradition and is usually treated as such.

His name appears in the words Ludgate, Ned Ludd, and subsequently in 'luddite'.

Lud's reign is notable for the building of cities and the refortification of Trinovantum (London), which he especially loved. Geoffrey explained the name "London" as deriving from "Caer Lud", or Lud's Fortress. When he died, he was buried at Ludgate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Lud

Statues of King Lud (centre) and his sons in the porch of St Dunstan-in-the-West Church in the City of London.

THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE.

A sleazy strip - joint in Soho wasn’t exactly the sort of place where any sane person could imagine the future course of world history being decided. But times were strange. There was no doubt about that. Who would ever have imagined that a time would come when a hundred pound note couldn’t buy so much as a single glass of water, a time when squatters from Berlin were sharing Buckingham Palace with the Royal Family, a time when the label ‘unemployed’ didn’t simply mean that someone was out of work but also classified him as a violent insurrectionist excluded rom the legal British state. Legal state? - sixty percent of old Britain was no longer recognised as belonging to the proud new Great Britain of 2002. In this new state, ‘riots’ no longer meant minor street disturbances easily quelled by the police. In fact, the police didn’t even exist any more: they had been amalgamated with the army to form the government’s new force of law and order, the military police.

Michael Haughney.