Editing Tenantry Column

{{Short description|Monument in Alnwick, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:Tenantry Column, Alnwick.jpg|thumb|upright|The Tenantry Column, Alnwick]]
The '''Tenantry Column''' is a monument to the south of [[Alnwick]] town centre, in [[Northumberland]], England.  It was erected in 1816 by the tenants of [[Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland]] in thanks for his reduction of their rents during the [[post-Napoleonic depression]].  It is a Doric column standing {{convert|83|ft}} tall and surmounted by a lion [[Attitude (heraldry)#Passant|en passant]], the symbol of the Percy family.  Four more lions stand on a platform at the base of the column.  A muster roll of the [[Percy Tenantry Volunteers]] was sealed into the foundation.  The structure was granted protection as a [[listed building]] in 1952 and since 1977 has been listed in the highest category, grade I.

== Description ==
The [[Doric order|Doric]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uoIHAAAAQAAJ The wandering knight of Dunstanborough castle, and miscellaneous poems] (1822), by James Service, p.136</ref> column is {{convert|83|ft}} tall and topped by the Percy Lion, symbol of the historic [[House of Percy|Percy family]].<ref name="LR"/>  The lion sits on top of a drum decorated with foliage and surmounted with an iron balcony.<ref name=listing/>  The lion's tail, unusually, is horizontal and is said to point towards Scotland but the reason why is not known.<ref name=he/>  The lion, depicted [[Attitude (heraldry)#Passant|en passant]], points south.<ref name=listing/>

The base of the column is surrounded by a circular granite platform of {{convert|90|ft|m}} circumference, accessible by stairs.  The platform is surrounded by four more lions, on black marble plinths, which look upon Alnwick.<ref name=listing/><ref name=he/>   A panel on the west side of the base of the column is engraved "To Hugh, Duke of Northumberland K.G This column is Erected, Dedicated and Inscribed By a Grateful and United Tenantry Anno Domini MDCCCXVI".<ref name=he/>  Panels on two other sides are marked with the Percy family motto "Esperance en dieu" (French: Hope is in God).  The fourth side contains the entrance to the column's internal stair case.  The platform was originally surrounded by railings, but these have been lost.<ref name=listing/>

Buried in a cavity in the foundations is the regimental roll of the late [[Percy Tenantry Volunteers]], written on [[vellum]] and sealed in a glass tube.<ref name="LR"/>  In 1887 Alnwick's railway station was built near to the column. It is one of the first sights to greet visitors to Alnwick, arriving from the south.<ref name=echo>{{cite news |title=Lion topped column erected to honour generous landlord – but was he grateful? |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/19033077.alnwicks-percy-tenantry-column-stands-opposite-barter-books/ |access-date=28 September 2021 |work=The Northern Echo |date=24 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
Designed by the [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] architect [[David Stephenson (architect)|David Stephenson]], the column was erected by the tenants of the [[Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland|second Duke of Northumberland]] in 1816 in thanks for a reduction in rents.<ref name="LR">[https://archive.org/details/localrecordsorh06sykegoog/page/n110/mode/2up Local Records] volume II (1866) by John Sykes, pp.100–101</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A Descriptive and Historical View of Alnwick|year=1822|page=[https://archive.org/details/adescriptiveand00davigoog/page/n336 295]|publisher=W. Davison|url=https://archive.org/details/adescriptiveand00davigoog}}</ref> The foundation stone for the column was laid on 1 July 1816, an event witnessed by a large audience. The ceremony was led by a band and flag bearers and attended by Stephenson (bearing a ceremonial silver trowel), the principal tenants and two clergymen. The 21 oldest of Percy's tenants ceremoniously used the trowel to lay the stone. The foundation stone was afterwards blessed and ceremonially doused with corn, wine and oil. The column was not completed until after the Duke's 10 July 1817 death and was instead presented to his son [[Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland]].<ref name=davison>{{cite book |last1=Davison |first1=W. |title=A Descriptive and Historical View of Alnwick ... |date=1822 |pages=295–296 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ8NAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}</ref> The stone for the column came from a nearby estate on Percy family land.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davison |first1=W. |title=A Descriptive and Historical View of Alnwick ... |date=1822 |page=298 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ8NAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}</ref>

The Duke had doubled or tripled rents during the agricultural boom that accompanied the [[Napoleonic Wars]] but, in an unusual show of 19th-century aristocratic generosity, had agreed to reduce them during the [[post-Napoleonic depression]].<ref name=he/> The reduction applied is said to have been 25%.<ref name=echo/> Percy was one of the richest men in England at this time.<ref name=echo/> A local legend, proved to be false, is that upon seeing that his tenants had money to pay for the structure the Duke raised his rents once more.<ref name=echo/> The Percy Tenantry Volunteers was a 1,500-strong unit of the [[British Volunteer Corps]] that the Duke had raised, at his own expense, during the war to defend the north-east from a potential French invasion.<ref name=he>{{cite web |title=Which 'Grateful and United' Tenants Erected a Monument of Thanks to Their Landlord? |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/what-is-designation/heritage-highlights/which-grateful-and-united-tenants-erected-a-monument-of-thanks-to-their-landlord/ |website=Historic England |access-date=28 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=davison/>

The column is also known as "The Farmer's Folly".<ref name=he/> It was granted protection as a [[listed building]] by [[Historic England]] on 20 February 1952: the listing was upgraded to the highest category, grade I, on 25 August 1977.<ref name=listing>{{cite web |title=Percy Tenantry Column, Alnwick – 1041405 |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1041405 |website=Historic England |access-date=28 September 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Brizlee Tower]] - folly tower in Alnwick
*[[Camphill Column, Alnwick]] - 1814 column in Alnwick
*[[Lord Hill's Column]] - 1814-1816 doric column in Shrewsbury

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110610044406/http://pmsa.cch.kcl.ac.uk/NE/NORT42.htm Percy Tenantry Column] at the Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project

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[[Category:Alnwick]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Northumberland]]
[[Category:Monumental columns in England]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1816]]
[[Category:Observation towers in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1816 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Grade I listed monuments and memorials]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Northumberland]]