Fellbridge Monument

Know locally as the Fellbridge monument this eighty foot high column can be found in a field just off the B6341 from Rothbury to Alnwick, down a narrow road leading to Lemmington Hall. But did you know that it  once stood in Fellbridge, Surrey where it was known as the Evelyn Monument? If you visit Fellbridge you might be interested to know that the original location was 78, Copthorne Road.

The column was commissioned by James Evelyn in memory of his parents Edward and Julie Evelyn

"jacobus evelyn filius edward evelyn
et juliae, uxoris tuus
O benignississimi parentus
hanc column
hac terra(natale solum)
panedam
pientissime gratissimeque

Designed by Sir John Soane in 1785 it was unveiled in Fellbridge in the same year. The original design was an Ionic column with an obelisk mounted on a circular pedestal. Opinions differ but it is thought that Sir John was not completely happy and "regretted that he had designed it before he had begun to pay proper attention to 'first principle' ". According to the architectural historian, David Watkin this is a reference to its lack of standard architrave, frieze or cornice.

The shaft is fairly plain and tapers towards the top, crowned by an altar with spiral flutings bearing the eternal flame (signifying Birth). The column (signifying Life) stands on a rather unkempt grassy knoll some 10 yards square, surrounded by a ditch known as a "ha-ha" and protected from livestock by barbed wire. Verses from Addison's Hymn of Gratitude are incised on the monument, some six feet above the base on which is carved a snake swallowing its tail: a symbol of eternity which Sir John used in other funerary designs. Above the body of the snake is inscribed the words "Manners Maketh Man".

When the Fellbridge Estate was sold in 1927 the column was bought by Sir Stephen Harry Aitchison. He dismantled the column and shipped it north to his estate at Lemmington Hall. He had acquired the property, which required a complete restoration, in 1913, for despite substantial alterations and improvements by architect William Newton in the late 18th century, Lemmington Hall had become a roofless ruin by the end of the 19th century. The shipping of the monument was both an expensive and difficult affair. By sea and road and finally by a light railway specially constructed for the purpose. Over the years the lettering became worn and following the death of Sir Stephen in 1942 it was re-cut.

Sir Stephen was born on 16 January 1863 and died on 26 August 1942. He was Justice of the Peace  for the City and County of Newcastle upon Tyne and held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Northumberland. He was created 1st Baronet Aitchison, of Lemmington, Northumberland [U.K.] on 31 January 1938.

Nearby is a standing stone about 5 feet tall with the words "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills".

Towards the west are three smaller stones with dates and initials carved thereon, each with a bee motif in the centre.

 The initials and the dates commemorate the births of  three of the four children born to Walter De Lancey Aitchison, who succeeded to the title of 2nd Baronet Aitchison, of Lemmington, Northumberland in 1942.

An interesting and historical area which is also open to the public!

I am indebted to the Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project and Alaistair Turner for much of this information.

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