Ponsonby's Column, also known as Ponsonby's Cenotaph, was a

monumental column A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a ...

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It was built in 1838 as a memorial to

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, a former

Governor of Malta A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, but it was destroyed by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

in 1864. Its plinth survived, and is now located near

Hastings Gardens Hastings Gardens is a public garden in Valletta, Malta. It is located on top of St. John's Bastion and St. Michael's Bastion, on the west side of the City Gate. The garden offers views of Floriana, Msida, Sliema, and Manoel Island. Inside th ...

History

Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

aristocrat, was appointed

on 15 February 1827. While Ponsonby was in England in 1836, he resigned from the post of Governor, and died suddenly on 11 January of the following year. In 1838, a

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

was built in honour of the dead Governor on St. Andrew's Bastion, overlooking

Marsamxett Harbour Marsamxett Harbour (), historically also referred to as Marsamuscetto, is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It is located to the north of the larger Grand Harbour. The harbour is generally more dedicated to leisure use than the Grand Ha ...

. Its architect is not known, but it could have been designed by

Giorgio Pullicino Giorgio Pullicino (8 July 1779 – 25 October 1851) was a Maltese painter, architect, and professor of drawing and architecture at the University of Malta. He is known for his harbour views painted in a number of media, and he is also consider ...

. The monument consisted of a 70-foot-high

Doric column The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

on a plinth, surmounted by an urn. The main inscription read: In January 1864, the column was struck by lightning, and it was subsequently demolished. The plinth remained intact, but in November 1888 it was removed from St. Andrew's Bastion to make way for new gun emplacements on the bastion. The plinth was reassembled near

on St. Michael's Bastion, and the following inscription was added: The plinth was damaged by shrapnel during aerial bombardment in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was restored a number of times over the years, most recently in 2013 under the sponsorship of the

Bank of Valletta Bank of Valletta plc (BOV) is a Maltese bank and financial services company headquartered in Santa Venera. It is the oldest established financial services provider in Malta and one of the largest. As of 2014, the bank had 44 branches, 6 region ...

. The plinth is listed as a Grade 1 national monument by MEPA.

References

External links

* {{Valletta Monumental columns Buildings and structures in Valletta Monuments and memorials in Malta Neoclassical architecture in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1838 Buildings and structures demolished in 1864 Demolished buildings and structures in Malta 1838 establishments in Malta 1864 disestablishments in Malta

History

See also

References

External links