The Bridgewater Monument
The Bridgewater Monument, Ringshall Road
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1078046
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-1952
- List Entry Name:
- The Bridgewater Monument
- Statutory Address:
- The Bridgewater Monument, Ringshall Road
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2001-11-15
- Reference:
- IOE01/05768/16
- Rights:
- © Mr Nick Jarvis. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1078046
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-1952
- List Entry Name:
- The Bridgewater Monument
- Statutory Address 1:
- The Bridgewater Monument, Ringshall Road
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- The Bridgewater Monument, Ringshall Road
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hertfordshire
- District:
- Dacorum (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Aldbury
- National Grid Reference:
- SP 97011 13118
Details
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 14 April 2022 to remove superfluous amendment details and to reformat the text to current standards
SP 91 SE
5/3
ALDBURY
Moneybury Hill
RINGSHALL ROAD (West side)
The Bridgewater Monument
14.5.52
GV
II*
Monumental column. 1831-2 by Sir Jeffry Wyatville for Lord Farnborough as executor to will of 8th Earl of Bridgewater. Built by Philip Nowell of Pimlico 1831-. Pedestal inscribed c.1833 'IN HONOUR OF/FRANCIS, THIRD DUKE OF BRIDGEWATER/"FATHER OF INLAND NAVIGATION"/1832'. Grey micaceous granite, steps and interior of base in yellow freestone, finial a giant copper urn, wrought iron for balustrade round top, handrail and grill at entrance. A splendid neo-Classical monument in the form of a fluted giant Greek Doric column about 40m high surmounted by an urn, the abacus a viewing platform, with a tectonic stepped cubical base and battered high plinth with two offsets and tall vertical projections in the middle of each side. Rectangular entrance up two steps in East projection has plain surround with converging uprights, and faces the long, designed vista eastwards to the family seat, Ashridge House in Little Gaddesden parish q.v. Inscription quoted is inscribed with sunk sans serif lettering.
Contemporary brass plate in entrance passage inscribed 'THIS COLUMN WAS
ERECTED CONFORMABLE WITH THE INTENTION OF JOHN WILLIAM EARL OF
BRIDGEWATER ACCORDING TO THE TESTAMENTARY DIRECTION OF FRANCIS HENRY
EARL OF BRIDGEWATER AND WITH THE APPROBATION OF CHARLOTTE C. ANNE
COUNTESS OF BRIDGEWATER IN HONOUR OF FRANCIS THIRD DUKE OF BRIDGEWATER,
WHO BY DEVOTING THE ENERGIES OF HIS MIND TO THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE
MOST SPLENDID WORKS OF INLAND NAVIGATION OPENED A NEW FIELD TO NATIONAL
INDUSTRY AND RENDERED THE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES TO THE COMMERCIAL
INTERESTS OF HIS COUNTRY'.
The monument stands on a spur at the highest point in the parish, 731ft above ordnance datum. Kelly states that it was intended in commemoration of the completion of the Grand Junction Canal. The column is a formal monument to celebrate the canal era, built at its height and before the coming of the railways.
(VCH(1908)143: Kelly(1914)19: Pevsner(1977)65: Derek Linstrum Sir Jeffry Wyatville: Architect to the King Oxford(1972)229).
Listing NGR: SP9701113118
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 355639
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, (1908), 143
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977), 65
Lindstrum, D, Sir Jeffry Wyatville: Architect to the King, (1972), 229
Kelly's Directory in Kelly's Directory, (1914), 19
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 10-Jun-2026 at 11:29:25.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.