The Marquess of Anglesey's Column (also known as Anglesey Column or by the Welsh name Tŵr Marcwis) is a Doric column near the Menai Strait in Wales. It is dedicated to Henry William Paget (the first Marquess of Anglesey) to commemorate his valour in the Napoleonic Wars. The column is a Grade II* listed building.The 27-metre-high (89 ft) monument (designed by Thomas Harrison) was erected close to Paget's country retreat at Plas Newydd, in 1817.
On the foundation stone there is an inscription, which also reads in Welsh and Latin;
The inhabitants of the counties of Anglesey and Caernarvon have erected this column in grateful commemoration of the distinguished military achievements of their countryman HENRY WILLIAM, MARQUESS OF ANGLESEY the leader of the British Cavalry in Spain throughout the arduous Campaign of 1807 and Second in Command of the Armies confederated against France at the memorable battle of Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815. Thomas Harrison Architect.
During the battle of Waterloo, Paget (at that time Lord Uxbridge) lost his leg to a cannonball hit. It is claimed he turned to
Lord Wellington when his leg was hit, and exclaimed, "By God, sir, I've lost my leg!" – to which Wellington replied, "By God, sir, so you have!". Paget was later fitted with the first ever articulated wooden leg.The column stands on an outcrop of blueschist rock, formed when pillow lavas have been metamorphosed under high pressure but relatively low temperature. This example is amongst the oldest known in the world, and in 2010 the site was declared a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a star feature of the GeoMôn UNESCO Global Geopark