The Tenantry Column: Solution
Created | Updated May 13, 2012
The Tenantry Column: the Answers
Q1: Where is the Lion Bridge? (this one, that is)
A1: Alnwick, Northumberland, UK.
Designed by Robert Adams in the 1770s.
Q2: Who lives in the castle?
A2: The Duke of Northumberland. It was built following the Norman Conquest – starting about
1096.
AKA Hogwarts
Q3: What has a Within and a Without ?
A3: The Bondgate, built in the mid-late 1400s.
Q4: ... and what is its correct name?
A4: The Hotspur Tower.
... or is it? Well yes, probably, although in calling it that, you may well be taken for just another
damn tourist.
Q5: ... and who decorated it?
A5: Random passing motorists – but not deliberately, oh no. Until 1968 – yes, 1968, it was very
much on the Main North Road – the A1 – between London and Edinburgh. Drivers without much
self-confidence had to take a tortuous route around and rejoin at the Castle, just before Lion
Bridge. Unfortunately for the hesitant driver, by the time they decided they wanted to go around
rather than through, it was too late.
Q6: What is The Tenantry Column?
A6: A Doric column, 83ft (25m) tall, topped by the Percy Lion
It was erected in 1816 (twenty-some years before Nelson's Column in London), by a grateful
tenantry (ie farmers) as thanks for the Duke reducing their rents. In the foundations is buried the
regimental roll of the late Percy Tenantry Volunteers - a hint at their motives, perhaps.
Q7: ... and (disregarding [probable] truth), what is its story?
A7: The popular version:
. Duke says "If ye can afford that, ye can afford decent rents"
. Farmers, disgruntled, finish it off quickly – straight tail, cheaper.
This is almost certainlyly apocryphal, as the column's lion was predated by some/many decades by
the one on the Lion Bridge – straight-tailed (though its original authenticity is unconfirmed).
The Percy Tenantry Volunteers were raised to repel Napoleon's planned invasion – and were
trained, fed, clothed and otherwise funded wholly by the Duke.
Q8: Who sacrificed his favourite coffee mug?
A8: Tolerably obvious, this one, eh? It was camera shy and tried to hide behind a floor tile.
Just on the other side of the main road from the column is the rather grand old Victorian Railway
Station, which now (since the 1990s) houses a more modern edifice
of a different sort which is
worthy of some note; take a look.
It is a favourite place for many – and not just locals.
