A Ceremonial Trig Pillar

Image: © James T M Towill Taken: 19 Jul 2015

Now in rather a forlorn state, this trig pillar is at the former British Leyland factory at Lillyhall, Workington, famous for production of the Leyland National single deck bus. The pillar is clad in Skiddaw slate, and has the flush bracket number 11392. Underneath the British Leyland emblem, the inscription reads: THIS BENCH MARK WAS SET UP BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE RT. HON. HAROLD WILSON O.B.E. M.P. TO INAUGURATE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS FACTORY ON THE 20TH FEBRUARY 1970. The factory had an area of 420,000 sq ft and initially employed 300 people, eventually manufacturing over 7,000 Leyland Nationals. The factory closed after being taken over by Volvo, in the early 1990s, and is now partially used by Stobart Haulage as a warehouse. Further information and photographs of the site from the past six years can be found at: http://trigpointing.uk/trig/7511 Nearby, Workington Transport Heritage Trust own several buses manufactured at the former Lillyhall plant, see http://www.wtht.co.uk/ Sadly, in June 2018, the pillar was found badly vandalised and the slate inscription stolen.

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