Monument Approximately 8 Metres To East Of Wood Hall

SK59NW

EDLINGTON EDLINGTON WOOD Monument approximately 8 metres to east of Wood Hall

II

Monument. Dated 1714. For Robert Molesworth M.P. in memory of his dog. Ashlar magnesian limestone or weathered marble. Square pedestal surmounted by vase. Moulded plinth to die with fielded panels on 2 sides, long inscriptions (mostly indecipherable) and depiction of dog; cornice. Inverted pear-shaped vase has octagonal base, turned foot and gadrooning. Molesworth used Edlington as a country estate and planted large tracts of the existing woodland, the monument formed its centrepiece and commemorates the dog which is said to have saved his master from being shot by an intruder. The Latin inscription is thought to have been composed by Dean Lockyer of Peterborough (a friend of Dryden) and extols the dog's virtues before concluding:-

'That master, not unmindful of his merits, with tears, within this marble urn hath placed his dead remains M. F. C. 1714'

The monument formed a landmark specifically noted by topographers since the mid C18. H. Phillip (ed), Edlington Wood, 1973 pp 1-4, J. Goodchild, 'Recent History'.

Listing NGR: SK5478498506