Keppel's Column

Keppel's Column
Keppel's Column
Type Folly
Location Wentworth
Coordinates 53°26′53″N 1°24′55″W / 53.447931°N 1.415144°W / 53.447931; -1.415144
OS grid reference SK 38941 94731
Area South Yorkshire
Built 1773-1780
Architect John Carr
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official name: Keppels Column
Designated 19 February 1986
Reference no. 1314632
Location of Keppel's Column in South Yorkshire

Keppel's Column is a 115-foot (35 m)[1][2][3] tower Grade II* listed building between Wentworth and Kimberworth in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Keppel's Column is one of several follies in and around Wentworth Woodhouse park; the others include Hoober Stand and Needle's Eye.

History

The column was built in the late-18th century to commemorate the acquittal of the court-martialled Admiral Augustus Keppel after the Battle of Ushant. It was commissioned in 1773 by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham and designed by John Carr[2]. The column was finished in 1780. It was initially intended to be a landscape feature composed of pedestal surmounted by obelisk, though at some stage the design was eventually changed to a tall column.

Structure

It visibly bulges due to an entasis correction, which was rendered inappropriate when funding problems reduced the height. The column, which has an internal spiral staircase, is located on a prominent hill on the southern extent of the Wentworth Estates. The hill is more than 480ft above mean sea level and is one of the highest hills in the Borough of Rotherham, second only to the hill on which Hoober Stand is located.

Keppel's Column has been closed to the public since the 1960s[4] due to being unsafe, as it is now in a derelict state. The column can be viewed at close quarters from the public footpath running from Admiral's Crest in Scholes.

References

  1. ↑ "Keppels Column, Keppel, Rotherham". www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Keppel's Column". wentworthvillage.net. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Keppels Column (1314632)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Crumbling heritage action call Town's historic buildings at risk, council is warned". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 11 March 2018.

Media related to Keppel's column at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 53°26′53″N 1°24′55″W / 53.447931°N 1.415144°W / 53.447931; -1.415144

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