In 1951 the "Sunderland Echo" reported that children had unsealed the door to the staircase and climbed the monument to search for pigeons' eggs; the National Trust employed a local builder to reseal it. In 1959 the National Coal Board repaired the monument after it was damaged by subsistence caused by mining: its northern, western and southern sides had become cracked, and part of the walkway had detached and overhung the interior. Stone blocks were replaced with concrete slabs with stone facings. Because of further settlement, Penshaw Monument was underpinned in 1978. The next year the western side was taken apart, and damaged lintels were replaced with ones made of reinforced concrete; the new lintels have buff-coloured artificial stone facings.