Keppel's Column is a
tower
Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
between
Wentworth Wentworth may refer to:
People
* Wentworth (surname)
* Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth (1873–1957), Lady Wentworth, notable Arabian horse breeder
* S. Wentworth Horton (1885–1960), New York state senator
* Wentworth Miller (born 1 ...
and
Kimberworth in
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. Keppel's Column is one of several
follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fol ...
in and around
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. The building has ...
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
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...
and designed by
John Carr.
The column was finished in 1780. It was initially intended to be a landscape feature composed of pedestal surmounted by an obelisk, though at some stage the design was changed to a tall column.
In October 2021, the column was one of 142 sites across England to receive part of a £35-million grant from the government's
Culture Recovery Fund
The Culture Recovery Fund is a grants programme issued by the UK Government as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund aims to financially support cultural organisations in England (such as theatres, museums, and music venues) which had bec ...
.
Structure
It visibly bulges due to an
entasis
In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upward. It also may ...
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
above mean sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''.
Th ...
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 had been closed to the public since the 1960s due to being unsafe, as it was in a derelict state, but was reopened to the public in September 2022.
The column can be viewed at close quarters from the public
footpath running from Admiral's Crest in
Scholes.
See also
*
*
Listed buildings in Rotherham (Keppel Ward)
References
External links
{{commons category-inline, Keppel's column
* http://www.holisticfraternity.co.uk/Keppels.html
Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham
Grade II* listed buildings in South Yorkshire
Towers in South Yorkshire
Folly towers in England
Towers completed in 1773