The Penshaw monument

On a hilltop in County Durham sits the Penshawⁱ monument, a nineteenth-century folly built to commemorate the late Earl of Durham. It’s always been on my bucket list, but it’s a bit of a pain to get to via public transport, and i’d never found the time — last week, though, i found myself with some time off and decided to make the trip. I’ll let the pictures do the talking from here…

A panoramic view of a sprawling country park, with some noticeable barriers put up for a race. In the distance, upon a hill, lies a building rather resembling an old Greek temple. — A view of the monument from the nearby country park. As you can see, there was a motorbike race on at the time, which somewhat dampened the otherwise-peaceful atmosphere. Tut tut.

On the top, the same building from before, now pictured from a rather closer distance, on a punishing set of stairs. Its façade is black with soot. On the bottom, a pristine ancient Greek temple, surrounded by a row of hedges. — The monument was based on Athens’ temple to Hephæstos, though in a rather scaled-down format (see the lack of any kind of roof).

The sun shines through the monument's columns. — We weren’t allowed inside the naos, as they were busy setting it up for that night’s Lumiere festival.ⁱⁱ (They did let some of the people walking their bulldogs up — perhaps because they were too scared?)

The country park also has this neat little henge, with viewfinders pointing towards some well-known County Durham sites — that little black square you can make out is Durham Cathedral.

Information for visitors

Address:
Chester Rd, Penshaw, Houghton le Spring DH4 7NJ
.
Accessibility: Getting up to the monument requires a steep hike up a hill; if you have impaired mobility, you may want to think twice before going.
Getting there: The hill is served by the A183 road and the 2, 2A, and 78 buses. The nearest train station is Chester-le-Street, five miles away.
The National Trust sometimes offers tours of the top of the monument, though those are currently suspended.

The Garden

A blog by Marijn van Hoorn

The Penshaw monument

Information for visitors

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