Monument to Robert Watson Approximately 30 Metres South of Cemetery Chapel is a Grade II listed building in the County Durham local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 May 1994. Monument.
Monument to Robert Watson Approximately 30 Metres South of Cemetery Chapel
- WRENN ID
- far-corridor-cobweb
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- County Durham
- Constituency
- Bishop Auckland MP: Dr Sam Rushworth (Lab)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 23 May 1994
- Type
- Monument
- OS grid reference
- NZ 215 292
- Coordinates
- 54.65825, -1.66783
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The monument to Robert Watson, located approximately 30 metres south of the cemetery chapel, was erected in 1890 by the Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA. It is made of bronze, painted to resemble Portland stone, and is designed in a Free Baroque style. The monument features a tapered pedestal that stands about 2 metres high, with a rock-faced plinth, a pedimented base, a tapered shaft, and an elaborate cornice adorned with low relief capitals that read "WATSON" on the base. The shaft has segmental-headed panels that display inscriptions and mottoes. The west panel commemorates Robert Watson, noting his birth in Hamsterley on 8 January 1819 and his death in Bishop Auckland on 9 May 1891. The south panel advises, "Be honest to thy God the world thy country thy fellowship and thyself." The east panel states, "God has revealed Himself in nature, of which science is the interpreter." Finally, the north panel proclaims, "With charity to all an honest man is the noblest work of God."
Local climate
Monument to Robert Watson Approximately 30 Metres South of Cemetery Chapel receives an average of 840 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 56% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 92% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 45 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 86% of listed buildings. Of these, 27 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.
Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
More on this building
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- No EPC on record for this property
- No sale records on file
- No related consent applications matched
- Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
- Flood risk assessment
- Radon risk assessment
- Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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Similar buildings
The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.
- 1 Watson Moument in Churchyard About 2 Metres North of Chancel, Church of the Holy Trinity
- 2 Watson Tomb Circa 10 Metres West of Church of St James
- 3 Tomb of Joseph Westwood
- 4 Monument to William Winton About 3 1/2 Metres West of Tower of Church of St Peter and St Paul
- 5 Watson Tomb in Church of All Saints Churchyard
this building 1 similar nearby listed buildings
Nearby listed buildings
- Bishop Auckland Cemetery Chapel
- Bishop Auckland Cemetery Gates
- Bishop Auckland Cemetery Lodge
- Toilet blocks and storage buildings to King James I Academy
- King James I Academy
- Former Lodge to King James I Academy
- Walls, piers, gates and railings to King James I Academy
- Grand Hotel
- Former Hippodrome Theatre
- Former Gregory Butchers Shop