Hoober Stand
Hoober Stand, with
its base standing 518 feet above sea level is close to the village of Wentworth. From the centre of Wentworth it can be reached via Coaley Lane and Lea Brook Lane.
It was designed by Henry Flitcroft and built in 1748 to commemorate the quelling of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. In the middle of the Eighteenth Century Thomas Watts Wentworth, Earl of
Melton was the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire. During the Second Jacobite Rebellion in 1745 he was loyal to the Hanoverian Royal Family and the government in London and was
commissioned to gather intelligence about Jacobite sympathies and the armies of Bonnie Prince Charlie. After the defeat of the rebellion he was promoted in the peerage to Marquis of
Rockingham for his loyalty.
In grateful thanks to King George II he commissioned the building of a memorial now called Hoober Stand. Work commenced in 1746 and was completed in 1748, although there were the usual
worried about the ever-increasing costs of building before it was finished. (Times don't change much do they? In 2004 you have only to look at for the new Scottish Parliament at Holyrood -
four years late and ten times over budget.) The inscription on the monument was composed by the Marquis himself:–
"This pyramidal building was erected by His Majesty's most dutiful subject Thomas Marquess of Rockingham in grateful respect to the preserver of our religious laws and liberties King George The Second who, by the blessing of God having subdued a most unnatural rebellion in Britain Anno 1746 maintains the balance of power and settles a just and honourable peace in Europe 1748"
Hoober Stand is a building of three sided pyramidal construction approximately thirty metres high and with little ornament on the outside. The wall are perpendicular for about 4.5 metres and then taper inward rising to the cupola on the top. Some experts have interpreted this shape as representative England, Scotland and Ireland united under one crown - I'm sure that there are other interpretations. The building creates the optical illusion that it is falling over whether it was intended to or not. There are steps up the inside to the top.
Hoober Stand is situated is situated in the highest point of the ridges around Wentworth and it is reckoned that you can see a dozen churches, two minsters, twelve windmills and one stately home as well as some modern eyesores but you'll need good eyesight on a clear day without mist in the distance.
It was done up and re-opened a few years ago. There are rather a lot of stairs to the top so I don't think I'll be visiting in any hurry. The Stand is now illuminated at nights.
Open every Sunday from Spring Bank Holiday to end of September 2 - 5pm. Also Spring Bank Holiday and August Bank Holiday Monday. Admission charge 2005 £2.00. Tel. 01226 742041.