Marquess Of Anglesey's Column
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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 () is a strait which separates the island of Anglesey from Gwynedd, on the mainland of Wales. It is situated between Caernarfon Bay in the south-west and Conwy Bay in the north-east, which are both inlets of the Irish Sea. The s ...
in Wales. It is dedicated to Henry William Paget (the first Marquess of Anglesey) to commemorate his valour in the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The column is a Grade II*
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
. 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 in English, 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, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
on the 18th of June 1815. Thomas Harrison Architect.
During the battle of Waterloo, Paget (at that time Lord Uxbridge) 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 similar rocks at relatively low temperatures () but very high overburden pressure, pressure corresponding to a depth of . The b ...
rock, formed when pillow lavas were metamorphosed under high pressure but at 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 A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
. 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 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 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 closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
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. 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