Description:James 'Athenian' Stuart modelled this monument on the Arch of Hadrian at Athens. Work began in 1761 using stone from the Tixall quarries. Admiral George Anson of Shugborough died the following year and it is possible his brother, Thomas Anson, decided the arch should become a memorial to his brother.
Peter Scheemakers (who also worked on the Shepherd's Monument at Shugborough) carved the decorations, which included medallions depicting naval themes and sarcophagi bearing the busts of the Admiral and his wife Elizabeth.
This photograph is from an album of local views taken by Edward King Tenison (1805-1878), a highly regarded photographer in the early decades of photography. His family seat was at Kilronen, Roscommon, Ireland and he married Louisa Mary Anne Anson, daughter of the 1st Earl of Lichfield, also an accomplished amateur photographer. These images were probably taken during Tenison's visits to his wife's family home, Shugborough.