The 41-metre column at the top of Grey Street, topped with a statue of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey — the Prime Minister behind the Great Reform Act of 1832 and the tea blend that bears his name. The monument was the city's geographical and social centre well before the Grainger Town rebuild arranged itself around it.
The viewing platform inside the column opens occasionally on weekends in summer — climb the 164 steps for a panorama over the whole city. Even when closed, the monument's pedestal is Newcastle's most reliable meeting point and protest venue.