Bridgewater Monument

, whom the monument commemorates]] Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater and 6th Earl of Bridgewater was a pioneer in the construction of canals during the early part of the Industrial Revolution. In 1761, he opened the Bridgewater Canal in North West England to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester, later extending it to Runcorn and then to Leigh. It is often said to be the first true canal in Britain, and earned him the nickname of "the Canal Duke". The monument is near the family seat, Ashridge House in Hertfordshire, which the Duke neglected for many years and then decided to rebuild. Although he demolished the dilapidated house, he did not see through his ambitious…

At the time, Charlotte Catherine Anne, Countess of Bridgewater and widow of the 7th Earl, was still in residence at Ashridge. She objected to the erection of an obelisk, which she considered to be in poor taste, and at her behest, the monument to the Canal Duke was sited some distance from Ashridge House so as not to be seen. To build the monument, the family appointed Sir Jeffry Wyattville, the architect who also worked on the Gothic Revival house on the estate. In line with the countess's wishes, he altered the design to that of a Greek column. The Bridgewater Monument was designed by Wyattville in a Neoclassical style, consisting of a giant 108 ft-tall fluted Greek Doric column…