© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)
The Countess Pillar is a seventeenth-century stone monument erected in Westmorland, standing as a record of the travels and life of Anne Clifford, the notable noble woman who restored her family estates in the region following the Civil War period. Constructed in 1656 near Penrith, the pillar comprises a tall shaft topped with a sundial and commemorative inscriptions, reflecting both practical timekeeping function and memorial purpose. The monument marks a significant cultural and social landmark in the landscape, documenting the prominence of female landholding and estate management during the post-Civil War restoration period in northern England. Its survival as a standing structure provides material evidence of seventeenth-century provincial monumental commemoration and the consolidation of aristocratic authority in the English north.
The Countess Pillar is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1007122. View the official record →
The Countess Pillar is a seventeenth-century stone monument erected in Westmorland, standing as a record of the travels and life of Anne Clifford, the notable noble woman who restored her family estates in the region following the Civil War period. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1007122.
The Countess Pillar is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1007122.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Romano-British settlement at Cragside Wood (7.7 km), Moated site and annexe east of Setterahpark Wood (8.3 km), Linear stone bank on Askham Fell (8.8 km).
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any address in Britain — drawing on scheduled monument data, Domesday records, Roman heritage, PAS finds and medieval history to reveal the complete story of a landscape.
Research the area around The Countess Pillar