The Marquess of Anglesey's Column (also known as Anglesey Column or by the Welsh name ''Tŵr Marcwis'') is a
Doric column near the
Menai Strait
The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
in Wales. It is dedicated to
Henry William Paget (the first
Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey ( cy, Ardalydd Môn) is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo, second in command to the Duke of Wellington. The Marque ...
) to commemorate his valour in the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. The column is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
.
The monument (designed by
Thomas Harrison) was erected close to Paget's country retreat at
Plas Newydd, in 1817.
On the foundation stone there is an inscription, which also reads in Welsh and Latin;
The inhabitants of the counties of Anglesey and Caernarvon have erected this column in grateful commemoration of the distinguished military achievements of their countryman HENRY WILLIAM, MARQUESS OF ANGLESEY the leader of the British Cavalry in Spain throughout the arduous Campaign of 1807 and Second in Command of the Armies confederated against France at the memorable battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Seventh C ...
on the 18th of June 1815. Thomas Harrison Architect.
During the battle of Waterloo, Paget (at that time
Lord Uxbridge
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...
) lost his leg to a cannonball hit. It is claimed he turned to
Lord Wellington when his leg was hit, and exclaimed, "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" — to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have!". Paget was later fitted with the first ever articulated wooden leg.
The column stands on an outcrop of
blueschist
Blueschist (), also called glaucophane schist, is a metavolcanic rock that forms by the metamorphism of basalt and rocks with similar composition at high pressures and low temperatures (), approximately corresponding to a depth of . The bl ...
rock, formed when
pillow lavas have been metamorphosed under high pressure but relatively low temperature. This example is amongst the oldest known in the world, and in 2010 the site was declared a Geological
Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a star feature of the
GeoMôn UNESCO Global Geopark
Statue
The monument was not completed until 1860 (after the Marquess had died) when the brass sculpture at the top was
added.
Matthew Noble
Matthew Noble (23 March 1817 – 23 June 1876) was a leading British portrait sculptor. Carver of numerous monumental figures and busts including work memorializing Victorian era royalty and statesmen displayed in locations such as Westminster Ab ...
sculpted the statue.
Decline and restoration attempts
In recent years, the condition of the column has deteriorated. Many of the wooden steps in the tower have rotted, and pose a severe fire risk. As a result, the column closed to the public in March 2012, with no formal restoration proposals agreed. The last 'Column Keeper' was Mr David Blackmore who lived in the cottage and took care of the site for 20 years.
In 2017, the 200th year of the column's life, a charity, the Anglesey Column Trust, was set up to look into the possibility of repairing and re-opening the column. In 2018, £60,000 funding from the
National Lottery was awarded towards restoring the column
which was used to further assess work needed and prepare further funding applications. In September 2020, £19,300 was granted by The
National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
's Emergency section for the installation of
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...
and other security features. In July 2021 the largest grant to date of £872,000 was given. This will allow not only the re-opening of the column but parking to be made available, a visitor centre opened in the cottage and a viewing platform for disabled visitors to use. All in all it is hoped six new jobs will be created.
References
{{commons category
Buildings and structures completed in 1817
Columns related to the Napoleonic Wars
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 ...
Grade II* listed buildings in Anglesey
Grade II* listed monuments and memorials in Wales
Monuments and memorials in Anglesey
Monumental columns in Wales
Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
Battle of Waterloo
Neoclassical architecture in Wales
Statues in Wales