the last major addition to, and almost sole survivor of, the once-exciting and impressive Trentham Hall. In 1851, it was described as being an "elegant mansion". It had been completely rebuilt in the previous 14 years, and had a stone front. It housed an extensive collection of paintings. It is surrounded by an 18th- and 19th-century park designed by Lancelot Brown. The house served as the Staffordshire seat of the Dukes of Sutherland, whose traditional burial place was Trentham Mausoleum nearby. In the southern area of the Trentham Estate stands the monument to the 1st Duke of Sutherland. This colossal statue, designed by Winks and sculptured by Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey, surmounts a plain column of stone on a tiered pedestal. The monument was raised in 1834 at the instigation of the second Duke, a year after the first Duke's death. A wide range of possible monuments was put forward, but Chantrey, with whom Loch, the duke's chief agent, had been in touch, recommended Sir Charles Barry for the design of the monument. Demolition The hall was one of many to be demolished in the 20th century, and was one of the greatest losses of the era. The River Trent no longer fed the lake in front of the hall, but it still passed the edge of the estate. Sewage and effluent from nearby potteries polluted it in the early 20th century, making life at the hall unpleasant. The hall was abandoned as a residence in 1905, and was shortly thereafter offered to Staffordshire County Council on condition that it be used as an institute of higher education, to house a potential North Staffordshire College. The county council, being unwilling to open a higher education institution, proposed using the hall for a teacher training college, but the Duke of Sutherland was unhappy with this suggestion. As the requirement to open a higher educational establishment remained, and with the council concerned that pollution from the Trent would render a residential institution at the hall undesirable, the county council declined the offer in 1906. The Duke of Sutherland then decided to offer the estate to the six Potteries towns in 1907, in the event that they went ahead with plans to merge into a single county borough. but after their 1910 federation, the new Stoke-on-Trent Corporation also declined the offer in 1911, citing the high maintenance costs. The hall was demolished in