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.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.