View source for Countess Pillar

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox monument
|monument_name = Countess Pillar
|image         = The Countess's Pillar - geograph.org.uk - 3873876.jpg
|caption       = Countess Pillar, Brougham
|location      = Brougham
|coordinates   = {{coord|54.65367|-2.70492|format=dms|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
|type          = Column<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=11999|mname=Countess Pillar|accessdate=16 August 2014}}</ref>
|material      = Stone
|length        =
|width         =
|height        =
|complete      = 1656
|dedicated_to  = Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland
}}
The '''Countess Pillar''' is a 17th-century monument near [[Brougham, Cumbria]], England, between [[Penrith, Cumbria|Penrith]] and [[Appleby-in-Westmorland|Appleby]]. It is two miles east of Penrith on the [[A66 road (England)|A66]]. The square top of the pillar is brightly painted and carries [[sundial]]s on its sides.<ref name=Wilson>{{cite journal|last=Wilson|first=Jean|date=July 1998|title=The Countess's Pillar, Westmorland|journal=[[History Today]]|volume=48|number=7|pages=56–57}}</ref> It was erected by [[Lady Anne Clifford]] in 1656 to mark the place where she said goodbye for the last time to her mother, [[Margaret Clifford, Countess of Cumberland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/countess-pillar-brougham/history/ |title=History of Countess Pillar, Brougham |publisher=English Heritage |accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref><ref name=Wilson/>

Anne Clifford, countess of Pembroke, Dorset and Montgomery (1590–1676), spent much of her life ina long and complex legal battle to obtain the rights of her inheritance. Her mother was one of the few people who supported Anne's claim to the family estates.  In 1616 Anne travelled north to see "her" estates and visit her mother at [[Brougham Castle]]. On her departure from the castle, Anne travelled with her mother a quarter of a mile to where the castle drive meets the main road, where they had "a grievous and heavy parting". Margaret died a month later.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/people-and-places/womens-history/anne-clifford/ |title=Lady Anne Clifford's story |publisher=English Heritage |accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref>

The inscription on the pillar describes Anne as "Sole Heire" of her father, [[George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland|George Earl of Cumberland]].  It also refers to a bequest in memory of Margaret which was made to the poor of the parish of Brougham.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/countess-pillar/ |title=Countess Pillar |publisher=Visit Cumbria |accessdate=16 March 2018}}</ref> This is commemorated annually on 2 April.<ref>{{cite web|title=Benefice Profile: Clifton & Brougham and Lowther & Askham in the Diocese of Carlisle|url=http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/uploads/1205/013_Clifton_etc_Benefice_Profile_2012-pdf.html|accessdate=16 August 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090606/http://www.carlislediocese.org.uk/uploads/1205/013_Clifton_etc_Benefice_Profile_2012-pdf.html|archivedate=19 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Cumberland and Westmorland Herald]]|date=4 April 2014|url=http://cwherald.com/a/archive/annual-dole-ceremony.425152.html|title=Annual dole ceremony|accessdate=16 March 2018|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084627/http://cwherald.com/a/archive/annual-dole-ceremony.425152.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==In literature==
[[Felicia Hemans]]'s poem "The Memorial Pillar", on the circumstances surrounding the erection of this monument, forms a part of her ''Records of Woman''.<ref>{{Cite wikisource |title=The Memorial Pillar |last=Hemans |first=Felicia |magazine=The New Monthly Magazine |authorlink=Felicia Hemans |year=1827 |volume=19 |pages=522–23 |wslink=Felicia_Hemans_in_The_New_Monthly_Magazine_Volume_19_1827/The_Memorial_Pillar}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Cumbria}}
*[[Grade II* listed buildings in Westmorland and Furness]]
*[[Listed buildings in Brougham, Cumbria]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Countess Pillar}}
* [https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/countess-pillar-brougham/  Information and history on the pillar at English Heritage]
{{English heritage cumbria}}
[[Category:Monumental columns in England]]
[[Category:English Heritage sites in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1656]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Cumbria]]

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