THE EARL OF DURHAM MONUMENT

The National Trust opened the loft of Penshaw Monument throughout 2012 summer season following the unprecedented interest in August 2011 when the loft was first opened to the public since a tragic accident in April 1926.

Here, Paul Lanagan, Chairman of Houghton-le-Spring Heritage Society, takes a look at the famous monument which has graced Penshaw Hill since 1844.

Included in the document is a time line of events for the Monument, vintage photographs, plus a transcription of historic graffiti found engraved on the Monument.

History of Penshaw Monument including a time line of events

HISTORY OF THE MONUMENT

The Earl of Durham Monument, known locally as Penshaw Monument on Penshaw Hill, was inspired by the Theseion, Temple of Hephaestus. It was built in 1844 out of gritstone. Find our more below.
[HISTORY 1840 - 2011]

Tragedy at Penshaw Monument when a young lad fell from the top in April 1926

MONUMENT TRADGEDY

On Easter Monday, April 5th 1926, Temperley Arthur Scott, a 16 year old boy from Fatfield, was killed when he fell from the top of Pensher Monument; public access to the loft ceased until 2011.
[TRAGEDY IN 1926]

Historic graffiti as engraved into Penshaw Monument's stonework plus transcriptions of the engravings on the Monument

HISTORIC GRAFFITI

Penshaw Monument is covered in historic graffiti which is engraved into its stonework. This document features transcriptions of the engravings, the earliest of which dates from at least 1925.
[TRANSCRIPTIONS]

Houghton Star nostalgia article about Penshaw Monument

NOSTALGIA ARTICLE

A nostalgia article from the Houghton & Seaham Star newspaper about Penshaw Monument. The article was written by Houghton Heritage Society Chairman, Paul Lanagan, and was published on 12/12/12.
[HOUGHTON STAR ARTICLE]

Penshaw Monument article on Wikipedia

PENSHAW MONUMENT ON WIKI

The online encyclopedia Wikipedia has an article about Penshaw Monument plus links to other websites showing interative 360 degrees view of the structure. Also included is a transcription of the foundation stone.
[WIKIPEDIA]

Penshaw Monument tours to the top by the National Trust

TOURS TO THE TOP

Penshaw Monument was acquired by the National Trust in 1939. The link below leads to the National Trust's website and has full details of the Trust's tours to the top of the Monument (or Penshaw Loft as we call it).
[TOURS TO THE TOP]

Join Fyass Byuk - Houghton Heritage Society's popular Facebook group

FACEBOOK GROUP

You can join Houghton Heritage Society by becoming a member on Facebook - or Fyass Byuk as we call it. We have over 2,500 members and the group is very popular with residents, descendants and ex-pats.
[FACEBOOK]

Videos and cine footage of Houghton-le-Spring

PENSHAW MONUMENT VIDEOS

Houghton Heritage Society's YouTube Channel features exclusive videos of Houghton-le-Spring as well as footage from our heritage events throughout the year - and of course our visits to Penshaw Monument!
[YOUTUBE VIDEOS]

Old photographs of Houghton-le-Spring shared via Flickr

OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

Houghton Heritage Society has over 5,000 images in its collections. Many can be found on our Flickr page while our Facebook group has thousands of exclusive photographs as uploaded by our many members.
[FLICKR] | [ARCHIVE CATALOGUE]