John Wilkinson Monument, Lindale

The tender process in respect of the proposed work on the Wilkinson Monument has now been completed a a contrator appointed, work commenced with effect from 14 Mar 2011 and it is hoped to be completed by early May 2011. The Parish Council are very grateful to the community, the Taylor Newton and Hibbert Trust and other organisations which have helped us raise the funds for this project.

2008 marked the 200th anniversary of the death of John Wilkinson. His monument in Lindale, and the area in which it stands, is checked by the Parish Council on a weekly basis, and the grounds maintained as part of our responsibility for public spaces. When it was suggested that the monument looked scruffy and in need of repainting, we discovered that there had been virtually no maintenance since the major restoration which was carried out in 1984, and that no professional checks had been made as to its safety. We quickly realised that no external work could be carried out without such checks.

The Council commissioned a local firm of Consulting Engineers to carry this out. It involved removing the plaque, which has a raised impression of Wilkinson’s head on it. The space revealed was big enough for the engineer to crawl inside the monument itself, and, with the aid of some ingenious ladders and planks, to take a good look at what has been hidden for over 20 years. When we got the report it included some fascinating photographs. Happily it does not indicate any serious defects, but it does advise some remedial and maintenance work to the interior of the monument as part of any refurbishment programme. There is some rusting and pitting and we were surprised to learn that the monument is not actually fastened down, but rests on its own weight. We all agree that it would be unwise to proceed with external works without attention to the interior and indeed it is likely that Health and Safety could be compromised were we to ignore its recommendations.

John “Iron-Mad” Wilkinson
(1728 - 1808) Ironmaster;

He was an important figure in the Industrial Revolution. The black-painted, cast-iron obelisk is something most of us take for granted as we pass it en route to or from Grange. John Wilkinson’s story is a significant one in the history of Lindale.