Camphill Column, Alnwick


The Camphill Column in Alnwick, Northumberland, is a stone column erected in 1814, celebrating a number of British victories over the French and others, and the restoration of peace to Europe. It carries inscriptions to Pitt, Wellington, Nelson and its progenitor, Henry Collingwood Selby. The column is a Grade II* listed building.

The column

Camp Hill is a site described as dating back to the time of the ancient Britons; an oval shape now much degraded and measuring some 120 yards by 104 yards. The hill is alternately described as the site of an army camp.
The column at Camp Hill was commissioned by Henry Collingwood Selby and constructed by John Hall, mason. It was situated in the grounds of Selby's estate, Swansfied Park. It is suggested that Selby "was a keen defender of the status quo against those locally who were sympathetic to the principles of the French Revolution."
The column is described as being "executed after Vetruvius' plan". The column stands on two large square steps, and is surmounted by a stone ball. The Public Monument and Sculpture Association description of the column is "Small Tuscan column surmounted by a platform with a small pedestal and ball finial on top. It stands in a copse on the damaged remains of an oval univallate hillfort in the middle of what is now a golf course."
On the square tablets of the east, south, west, and north sides are the following inscriptions:
The column was listed in August 1977, and survived the demolition of Selby's seat, Swansfield House, in 1975, and now stands within the grounds of Alnwick Golf Club.