One World - Protecting the most significant buildings, monuments and features of Valletta (32)

Ponsomby's Column

This monument to Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsomby, who was governor of Malta between 1827 and 1836, was erected in 1838 on St Andrew's Bastion close to Triq il-Mitħna by the side of Hastings Garden.

It consisted of a Doric column 21 meters high topped by a stone funerary urn.

The monument was damaged by an earthquake in 1856 and then struck by lightning in 1874. The surviving base of the column was dismantled and re-erected on St Michael's Bastion in 1880. The remains of the square base are of local hard stone comprising a plinth on a three-stepped base.

Above the plinth is a garland surrounding the base of the column. On the front of the plinth there is an inscription with a dedication and another inscription in memory of the monument being struck by lightning.

Mepa scheduled Ponsomby's Column as a Grade 1 national monument as per Government Notice No. 276/08 in the Government Gazette dated March 28.

Comments

apgrech (on 2/8/08)

Joseph Cachia is right. We have old monuments dedicated to foreigners and have very few, if any, dedicated to Maltese people and we have many who deserve a monument.

joseph cachia (on 2/8/08)

Can't we MALTESE do away with this rubbish ? This guy was a monarch servant therfore
his interest was lining his pockets and add to his mnaster coffers on the MALTESE shoulders.
So do away with these plints through a stone crusher and replace the site with any Maltese
Gentleman statue/monumet to remind our children of their ancestors.
One World please note, we are MALTESE no Tie and Bow \benestantee's from the sweat
of maltese labour.
Will the T>o >>M print the afore, please