Topics > Newcastle City Centre > Streets > Grey Street > Grey's Monument

Grey's Monument


Grey's Monument is a prominent landmark in the centre of Newcastle. Located at the head of Grey Street and Grainger Street, where they meet Blackett Street. The monument was built in 1838 to commemorate Charles Earl Grey and the reforms he achieved. The statue of Grey stands on a 134 ft. stone column.[1] The monument has a viewing balcony accessed via a spiral staircase with 164 steps inside the column (often open 1st Saturday of each month - requires booking).[2] The monument is Grade I listed on the National Heritage List for England.

Grey's Monument is a Grade I listed monument to Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey built in 1838 in the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was erected to acclaim Earl Grey for the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832 and stands at the head of Grey Street. It consists of a statue of Lord Grey standing atop a column. The column was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green, and the statue was created by the sculptor Edward Hodges Baily (creator of Nelson's statue in Trafalgar Square).

In July 1941, during World War II, the head of the statue was knocked off by a bolt of lightning. In 1947, sculptor Roger Hedley (the son of painter Ralph Hedley) created a new head based on the preserved fragments of the original.

The monument lends its name to Monument Metro station, a station on the Tyne and Wear Metro located directly underneath, and to the Monument Mall Shopping Centre. The surrounding area is simply known as Monument.

A spiral staircase leads to a viewing platform at the top of the monument, which is occasionally opened to the public. Old photographs indicate that the monument was originally on a traffic island and was surrounded by railings. These railings are no longer present, and the area around the monument is now pedestrianised and is home to many shops, some independent and some up-scale designer boutiques.

The wide base of the monument is a popular spot for people-watching, and often acts as a venue for buskers, religious speakers and political activists/protesters. The Maxïmo Park song By the Monument refers to Grey's Monument.

The Monument is in the Westgate electoral ward of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, and the parliamentary constituency of Newcastle upon Tyne Central.

Inscription

The main inscription on the pedestal reads:

THIS COLUMN WAS ERECTED IN 1838
TO COMMEMORATE
THE SERVICES RENDERED TO HIS COUNTRY BY
CHARLES EARL GREY K.G.
WHO, DURING AN ACTIVE POLITICAL CAREER OF
NEARLY HALF A CENTURY
WAS THE CONSTANT ADVOCATE OF PEACE
AND THE FEARLESS AND CONSISTENT CHAMPION OF
CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
HE FIRST DIRECTED HIS EFFORTS TO THE AMENDMENT
OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE IN 1792,
AND WAS THE MINISTER BY WHOSE ADVICE, AND UNDER WHOSE GUIDANCE,
THE GREAT MEASURE OF PARLIAMENTARY REFORM
WAS AFTER AN ARDUOUS AND PROTRACTED STRUGGLE
SAFELY AND TRIUMPHANTLY ACHIEVED
IN THE YEAR 1832.

And on the opposite face is a later inscription:

AFTER A CENTURY OF CIVIL PEACE,
THE PEOPLE RENEW
THEIR GRATITUDE TO THE AUTHOR
OF THE GREAT REFORM BILL.
1932.

Text from Wikipedia, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (accessed: 28/01/2017).
Visit the page: Grey's Monument for references and further details. You can contribute to this article on Wikipedia.
Grey Street Statues and Memorials 1838 Grainger Street Blackett Street Newcastle City Centre Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845) Redevelopment of Newcastle 1824 to 1841 Grade I Listed John Green (1787 - 1852) Historic Buildings and Monuments in Newcastle
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
043364:Grey Street Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1968

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
714496:Grey Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1925

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
578653:View from Grey's Monument 1991

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
055182:Grey Street Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1982

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from TWAM (flickr)
Grey's Monument, 1955

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
066605:Grainger Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1900

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
037298:Grainger Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1946

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
060886:Grainger Street Newcastle upon Tyne Ermel Trevor 1995

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
066611:Grainger Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1903

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from TWAM (flickr)
Grey Street, 1955

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
044844: Grey Street 1860s

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
024527:Grey Street/Grainger Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1900

Pinned by Gerard Corsane
from Flickr (flickr)
Earl on the Rooftops

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
IMG_3746

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
A Closer Look

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Greys Monument -Newcastle upon Tyne

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
2009-08 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 028

Pinned by Richy
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
068635:Grey Street Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown 1905

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
011457:Grey's Monument Newcastle upon Tyne Unknown c.1916

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
055154:Blackett Street Newcastle upon Tyne City Engineers 1988

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from https://www.vads.ac.uk/digita…
Grey's Monument
- Description and summary of the history of Grey's monument. "...he railings protecting the base with four lamps at each corner disappeared at the start of this century(13) and in July …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from TWAM (flickr)
Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from TWAM (flickr)
Grey's Monument and surrounding streets, 1978

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Image taken from page 827 of 'The Local Historian's Table Book of remarkable occurrences, historical facts, traditions, legendary and descriptive ballads, connected with the Counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, and Durham. Historical Division.

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
Old and New Newcastle

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
064257:Monument

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from http://www.twsitelines.info/s…
HER(5188): Newcastle, Earl Grey Monument
- "The 134ft coarse gritstone Roman Doric column was originally designed by Benjamin Green to be 150ft high. The heroic size Portland stone statue of Earl Grey, sculptured by Edward Hodges …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from https://historicengland.org.u…
EARL GREY MONUMENT - List Entry
- "Column monument with statue. 1838 by Benjamin Green; statue by Baily. Erected by public subscription to commemorate the efforts of Charles Earl Grey K.G. towards parliamentary reform. Sandstone ashlar; marble …

Added by
Simon Cotterill
from Youtube (youtube)
Grey's Monument interior

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Youtube (youtube)
Grey's Monument, Newcastle

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845)
  Co-Curate Page
Charles, 2nd Earl Grey (1764-1845)
- Overview About Charles Grey Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey was descended from a long-established Northumbrian family seated at Howick Hall. Aged just 22 Grey was elected to Parliament for the …
from Geograph (geograph)
Earl Grey atop his monument

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Gray's Monument Reflected

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Demonstration against massacre in Gaza

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Bright Grey

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Grey Street Newcastle

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Earl Grey

Pinned by Richy
from Flickr (flickr)
Grey's Monument

Pinned by Richy
from http://www.newcastlegateshead…
Grey's Monument
- Includes information on booking to go up the monument.

Added by
Richy
from TWAM (flickr)
Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
038961:No Title available

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
It's a wrap - Grey's Monument

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Christmas stalls around Gray's Monument in Newcastle. 2019

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Tyneside: Earl Grey's monument

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Monument + pigeon!

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Monument + pigeon!

Pinned by Simon Cotterill
from Flickr (flickr)
Life in Newcastle 2020: Grey Street

Pinned by Peter Smith

Comments

Add a comment or share a memory.

Login to add a comment. Sign-up if you don't already have an account.



List grade: 1
List number: 1329931
Tyne & Wear HER: 5188
Post code: NE1 6JG
Borough: Newcastle
Grid ref: NZ2486164425

ABOUT US

Co-Curate is a project which brings together online collections, museums, universities, schools and community groups to make and re-make stories and images from North East England and Cumbria. Co-Curate is a trans-disciplinary project that will open up 'official' museum and 'un-officia'l co-created community-based collections and archives through innovative collaborative approaches using social media and open archives/data.

LATEST SHARED RESOURCES