The Wellington Monument is a triangular

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

located on a point of the

Blackdown Hills The Blackdown Hills, or Blackdowns, are a range of hills along the Somerset-Devon border in south-western England. The plateau is dominated by hard chert bands of Upper Greensand with some remnants of chalk, and is cut through by river valleys. ...

, south of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the English county of

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. It 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 ...

and is the tallest three-sided obelisk in the world. The monument was designed to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory at the

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 ...

. Construction of the original design commenced in 1817; a revised and cheaper design was eventually used, though, and building was completed in 1854. It is now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, which closed the monument to the public in 2007, owing to safety concerns; surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed. Repairs were completed, leaving the monument "now possibly in better condition than when it was first completed" and the monument reopened in August 2021.

Construction

The monument was erected to celebrate the victory of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

, at the 1815

. Following his victory at the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

in 1809, Wellesley was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

as a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

Peerages in the United Kingdom A Peerage is a form of crown distinction, with Peerages in the United Kingdom comprising both hereditary and lifetime titled appointments of various ranks, which form both a constituent part of the legislative process and the British ...

usually include a

territorial designation In the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern Peerages in the United Kingdom, peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation ...

, symbolically tying them to a particular location. Because Arthur was abroad with the army, his brother Richard Wellesley selected the location; he chose the town of

Wellington, Somerset Wellington is a market town in Somerset, England. It is situated south west of Taunton, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills National Landscape, Blackdown Hills to the south of the town. The town had a population o ...

, due to its similarity to the family name, although Arthur Wellesley had never visited it. The new title was 'Viscount Wellington of Talavera, and of Wellington in the County of Somerset'. Parliament awarded him £100,000, and with this he bought two manors in the town, including the land the monument now stands on. The association was continued with Wellesley's subsequent promotions to higher ranks of nobility; he ultimately became

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

in 1814. The monument was proposed in 1815 by William Sanford of Nynehead Court, and he started a public subscription to pay for it. Within months £1450 had been raised and a design competition was held. The winning entry envisaged a pillar with three cottages at the base to house old soldiers as caretakers. It was designed by Thomas Lee and the foundation stone was laid by

Lord Somerville Lord Somerville is a title in the Peerage of Scotland which is subject to a number of ambiguities. The date of creation is not known with certainty but it was probably created about 1435 for Thomas Somerville, Justiciar of Scotia, Justiciar of ...

in 1817. By 1818 the column was high but all funds had been spent. Another appeal raised further funds, and the column was raised to by 1820. It was damaged in 1846 when it was struck by

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

. Construction restarted after the Duke's death, and was completed in 1854 by Henry Goodridge. The monument's design was inspired by an Egyptian

, but in the shape of the type of bayonet used by Wellington's armies, a spike of triangular cross-section rather than a blade, with funds raised from local subscribers to commemorate his achievements. The initial designs envisaged a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

statue of the Duke on the top of the column with more statues on the plinth, but these were never built. The upper section of the column was restored in 1890 when the pinnacle was raised by . The original plans were for twenty-four cannons, captured from the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

at the Battle of Waterloo, to be installed around the base. In 1818 one brass and 15 iron cannons were transported from the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

to Exeter Quay, but they were never transported to the monument. After years of storage at

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

ten were sunk into the ground as

bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. In modern usage, it also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to pre ...

s, and the brass gun sold in 1837 for £64 to cover the storage costs incurred by the local corporation. In 1890, when four guns were requested for the monument as part of a restoration project, they were found to be naval cannons cast in Scotland dating from 1789, and never used at the Battle of Waterloo. Four cannons were eventually installed in 1910, surrounding the monument, but these were removed during the Second World War (1939–1945) for scrap metal to help the war effort. The need for scrap metal fell and they were eventually buried at Watchet. The one cannon remaining at Exeter was brought to the monument in 1977 and finally installed in 1984.

Architecture

The monument is built of local stone, Calcareous Grit, a

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

from Northay. The triangular column is wide at the base and high. The base has an Egyptian winged panel above the studded iron door and is surmounted by a coved

dentil A dentil (from Lat. ''dens'', a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice. Dentils are found in ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and also in later styles such as Neoclassical, Federal, Georgian Rev ...

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

. A

counterweight A counterweight is a weight (object), weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a machine, mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves e ...

hangs inside the top of the monument to help balance it in windy weather. An internal staircase ascends to a viewing platform, which has three circular windows, one on each face.

National Trust ownership and restoration

The monument was acquired by the

in 1934. It is floodlit on special occasions with new lights installed in 2015. In 1985, the Wellington Rotary Club donated the cannon currently standing at the base of the monument. The National Trust closed the monument to the public in 2007, owing to safety concerns. Surveys showed that extensive renovation work was needed to reopen the internal staircase to the viewing platform. In June 2009, the National Trust announced plans to reclad the monument at a cost of £4 million. The painted fence was replaced by an open wire fence in 2010, aiding visibility, but still preventing public access to the base of the monument. Survey work in 2010 showed the extent of cracks in the stonework. In 2013 it was announced that further funding would be needed for the restoration project. Sensors recording the movement of the tower are also to be installed. In 2015 Rebecca Pow the new local Member of Parliament for

Taunton Deane Taunton Deane was a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of ...

asked the government to make available money for a restoration fund. In 2016 she further highlighted the deteriorating condition of the monument and started a petition for its repair. Complicated repairs were completed, over two years and at a cost of £3.1m, and the monument reopened in August 2021; the Trust said that after repairs it was expected to be removed from the at-risk register, and that it was "now possibly in better condition than when it was first completed".

References

External links

Wellington Monument webpage (National Trust)

Drone footage of the monument (YouTube)
{{Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Tourist attractions in Somerset Monuments and memorials in Somerset Grade II* listed buildings in Taunton Deane Victory monuments Monuments to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Towers completed in 1854 National Trust properties in Somerset Observation towers in the United Kingdom Monumental columns in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed monuments and memorials Obelisks in England