Pelham’s Pillar ~ A Lincolnshire Landmark
Pelham’s Pillar certainly doesn’t look like something you’d expect to see in a Lincolnshire woodland clearing - especially at 128 feet high !
The reason for the tower, or folly, is also unusual - very worthy, in fact extremely so, but unusual for such a monument non-the-less
Pelham’s Pillar is on land which forms part of the Brocklesby Park Estate owned by Lord Yarborough.
The reason for the monument was to commemorate trees ! Not just trees but the number planted by Charles Anderson Pelham, the first Baron Yarborough, who, between the years 1787 and 1828, planted a staggering 12.5 million trees !
My kind of man.
The tower’s foundation stone was laid in 1840 by his son and finished 9 years later. The architect who designed the feature was Edward James Wilson of Lincoln and the total cost of the build came to nearly £2,500 - you couldn’t even get a conservatory for that now !
Two impressive stone lions symbolically guard the entrance, one watches whilst the other sleeps, and the view from the top is said to oversee the entire extent of the land held by the estate.
Pelham’s Pillar is located actually in Caistor on the very edges of the Brocklesby Estate. From Caistor take the road to Brocklesby and it’s situated on the right in Cabourne High Woods.
Unfortunately, the day of my trip was one of unreliable light, with skies going from bright to overcast - sadly overcast here so the pictures are not as good as I would have liked - but at least you get the idea.
The one below is simply to give you a feel of the surroundings in which the historic tower is set.
One other interesting historical note:
The husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, made a royal visit on completion of building.
Royal visits in Lincolnshire - brings back memories of when I saw saw the Queen as a schoolboy - Gawd Bless ‘Er
Pelham’s Pillar
Monumentally Yours
Rod
chris keyworth said,
September 8, 2009 @ 9:28 am
Rod
an interesting twist to this story The Fonaby Stone Sack….
St Paulinus was a missionary in the 7th century. One day he was riding along the old path above Caistor. His donkey was more obstinate than normal due to no food . St Paulinus spotted somebody who was sowing corn. Possibly he may share some of the grain? He asked the man for some corn from the sack in the field. ‘Oh that’s not a sack,’ replied the farmer. ‘That’s - a stone.’
A stone, eh. ‘Then stone it shall be’ retorted St Paulinus. And so it was.
Apparently it remained in place in the field for many generations, and then a farmer decided to remove it from his field. It was easier said than done and took a whole team of horses to shift. After that every misfortune imaginable fell on the farm. The land owner thought he’d better put it back. This time an old horse managed to drag it up the slope easily by itself.
The stone is supposed to have a ‘gathered’ effect like the mouth of a sack. Can anyone track it down??
regards
chris
TA 1250 0340 aprox good hunting…..
Rod said,
September 8, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
Chris,
I think I’ll have to give it a look - who knows I could finally be the one to find it
Knowing me I’ll trip over it and break my leg
A great addition
Cheers
Rod
chris keyworth said,
September 8, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
oh its definatly there Rod……. mind you dont stub your toe….
what ever you do dont chip any off or try to move it……..
Trevor Foreman said,
October 23, 2009 @ 8:51 am
You used to be able to collect the key from the gatehouse and walk up the pillar,
if memory serves it has 365 steps, but I dont remember the number of ‘landings’
its either 4 to reflect the seasons or 12 to reflect the months of the year.
Needless to say the view across the ancholme vally was superb
Cheers
Trevor Foreman
Billy Boy said,
March 11, 2010 @ 6:01 pm
Good to see shots of the pillar i also was able to obtain the key from the lodge. As a young lad in late 70’s I went up the tower and the view was breathtaking I remember seeing a deer coming out of the woods.
Rod said,
March 11, 2010 @ 7:28 pm
Hi Billy,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site, I’m envious, I’ve seen a deer thereabouts but never been inside the pillar itself
All the best
Rod
Sarah said,
March 24, 2010 @ 1:33 pm
Is Pelham’s Pillar still open to the public? I’m from Canada and my grandpa, who was born in Caistor used to tell us stories about Pelham’s Pillar and the stone at Fonaby Top, but when my cousin went to Caistor last summer And said the tower was closed. I’m coming to England in the fall and would love to see my Nana’s initials, that she carved at the top.
Rod said,
March 24, 2010 @ 5:41 pm
Sarah,
I couldn’t say for sure but I suspect is is not open to the public on a general day to day basis - perhaps someone else could be more definitive with a comment ?
All the best
Rod
Amiguru said,
March 24, 2010 @ 8:10 pm
Sarah,
Here are the full contact details for information:
Brocklesby Estate Office, Brocklesby Park, Grimsby, NE Lincolnshire, DN41 8PN
Tel: 01469 561400 Fax: 561409 Email: events@brocklesby.co.uk
Regards,
Neville
Nicky said,
February 21, 2011 @ 4:34 pm
Hi,
A few of us are going in a few weeks, collect the key from the estate office (trusting!) and return after use,
Its free of charge, can also go into the mauseleum at limber there is a small cost of £2 per head, plan on doing that too when the park is open again….