contractors to remove the graffiti at a "considerable cost". Although the Trust did not ask for donations, local residents and businesses gave £1500 to pay for the removal. In 2019, as an April Fools' Day joke, it was announced that Penshaw Monument would be "moved stone by stone" to Beamish Museum in County Durham. The museum claimed the move was due to "the discovery of an infestation of a rare breed of worm in Penshaw Hill"—a reference to the Lambton Worm legend. In August 2019 the National Trust received £200,000 from Highways England's Environment Designated Fund. It said it would use the money to provide better access to the monument by replacing old timber steps with new ones made of sandstone and limestone, and improve signage at the site using information from new ground surveys. Repairs were also carried out on the monument itself, including stone repair and repointing on its stylobate. It was originally proposed to add a new spur path, and ditches at the side of the main path with soakaway pits for drainage; however, these plans were abandoned, partly because of their archaeological impact. As part of the Lumiere in Durham light festival in November 2021, the monument is to be illuminated with 140,000 separate points of light to commemorate the UK dead in the COVID-19 pandemic. Architecture Although it was intended as a memorial to the Earl of Durham, many sources describe Penshaw Monument as a folly; it features no statue or sculpture of the man it was intended to commemorate. The monument was built in the style of a temple of the Doric order. It is based on the Temple of Hephaestus, which is on the Agoraios Kolonos hill on the north-west side of the Agora of Athens. The National Trust describes it as a replica of the temple; however, according to the Sunderland Echo, "at best it could be said it is 'slightly similar to' the Temple of Hephaestus". It is an example of Greek Revival architecture, which is rare in the historic County Durham. The style first appeared there at country houses like Eggleston Hall; Penshaw Monument is a late example, as is Monkwearmouth Railway Station. John Martin Robinson cites the monument alongside Bowes Museum as an example of the "eccentric buildings" found in the county. Nikolaus Pevsner noted that the structure's proximity to the Victoria Viaduct produces a rare juxtaposition of Greek