was commissioned to design the statue of the Earl which cost £700. Construction and unveiling Joseph Welch, who had previously built the Ouseburn Viaduct and Bellingham Bridge, was in charge of building the monument. The foundation stone was laid on 6 September 1837 by both John and Benjamin Green. A time capsule was buried at the time of the monument's construction. It contained a hermetically sealed glass bottle which contained a drawing of the structure, a collection of coins, local medals and tradesmen's tokens donated by John Ralph Fenwick, and a list of the monument's subscribers Following the completion of the column on 11 August 1838, the Earl and Countess Grey visited Newcastle and were reported to have shown "evident signs of pleasure" when viewing the structure. On 24 August 1838, the statue of Earl Grey was placed on top of the column. It was transported from London by Halcyon, a trader based in Newcastle, and moved to its base from the quay of the River Tyne by two wagons. Church bells rang throughout the day to commemorate the occasion, although Earl Grey did not attend. In November 1838, the scaffolding encasing the monument was removed. Design Column Measured from the bottom of the column to the top of the statue, Grey's Monument is tall. The fluted column is Roman Doric in style and is in diameter. The column was originally built from stone from the Pennines, later replaced with sandstone ashlar. A helical staircase with 164 steps leads to a viewing platform at the top of the monument, which is occasionally opened to the public. Four lamps were placed at the base of the monument in 1893, increasing to 12 in the 1920s. The railings and lamps have since been removed. A building survey conducted in 1995 concluded that the monument was built on shallow foundations. It also found that the column can sway up to in the wind. Statue At the top of the column there is a pedestal surrounded by railings which enclose the viewing platform. The statue of Earl Grey by E. H. Baily sits on top of the pedestal. The statue depicts a twice-life-size figure standing upright, clothed in robes of the Order of the Garter. It is made out of Portland stone and was originally coated in wax to protect it against the weather. In Public Sculpture of North-East England, the expression of Earl