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A double-size replica of the Temple of Theseus in Athens, situated on the top of a steep hill. Eighteen Doric columns are set on a 2 metre high base, tapering up to a massive pedimental structure, with its roof open to the sky. The monument's stone would originally have been yellow, though it has blackened over the years. Penshaw Monument is the largest structure functioning solely as a memorial in the north east survey region. Its hill-top site means that it is visible from the Wear and Tyne plains up to a distance of about 10 miles.

A subscription fund was raised after the Earl's death, and four years later this massive monument was built on a hill which, according to legend, the Lambton Worm coiled itself around in days of yore. Its foundation stone was laid on 28th August 1844 by Thomas, Earl of Zetland in front of a 30,000 crowd. Penshaw's name derives from the ancient British 'pen', a head or hill; and 'shaw', Saxon for a wood or thicket.(3) After belonging to the Lambton family for many years, the site is now managed by the National Trust. In the early 1990s its was realised that the hill was subsiding, though there was 'no cause for alarm'. Concrete was injected underneath to stabilise the structure and further work was carried out on the superstructure in 1996.(4) The Monument can be seen from many miles around, looming 'as an apparition of the Acropolis under hyperborean skies', in the words of Pevsner.(3)

John George Lambton (1792-1840), the 8th Earl of Durham, was a humane and generous landlord responsible for the Durham coalfield. His collieries were the first to test the Davy Safety Lamp and he objected to unnecessarily harsh treatment of miners. He spoke in the Commons and the Lords in favour of Parliamentary reform and led a life full of incident, once duelling on Bamburgh Sands after being accused of providing prompts for someone else's speech. The Earl became Ambassador to Russia in 1835 and upon his return was asked to deal with the Canadian revolt of 1837. His Durham Report of 1839 led to limited self-government for Canada, Britain's first experiment in colonial emancipation. Affectionately known as 'Radical Jack' or 'The King of the Colliers', Lambton’s death was greeted with an outpouring of public sympathy: 'he was a good friend to the poor', exclaimed one labourer.(2)

circa

raw year

Condition

At risk

Inscriptions

Signatures

Whole monument

Stone

2100cm high x 4500cm long x 1600cm wide

Accretions

Blackened by weathering

Other

Intermittent problems with the hill's stability

Graffiti

Scratched and inked on many surfaces