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 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.
The monument was based on Athens'
temple to Hephæstos, though in a rather scaled-down format (see the lack of any kind of roof).
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 SpringDH4 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.
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