Hoober Stand

Hoober Stand is a 30 metre high building situated on a ridge in Wentworth, Rotherham, South Yorkshire in the North of England. It lies approximately 157m above sea level. It was designed by Henry Flitcroft in the eighteenth century to commemorate the Jacobean defeat. On the top of the stand, it provides magnificent, long distance views on a clear day. It is open to the public 2–5 p.m. on Sunday afternoons from the last Sunday in May to the last Sunday in September. It is also open during these hours on the two bank holiday Mondays between this period, the Spring and Summer Bank holidays. Hoober Stand is one of the landmark follies in the area. The others include Needle's Eye and Keppels Column.

History

During the Scottish Jacobite uprising in 1745, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, the Earl of Malton and Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, fought against them. When the Jacobites were defeated, King George II elevated him to marquisate for his contribution. Watson-Wentworth became the 1st Marquis of Rockingham and the title Earl of Malton passed to his only surviving son. To show his gratitude towards the king for his elevation, he ordered the construction of Hoober Stand, which began in 1746. Hoober Stand was designed by the architect Henry Flitcroft. Its construction was completed in 1748 at a total cost of £3,000.

The inscription above the doorway reads:

"This pyramidall building was erected by his Majestys most dutiful subject Thomas Marquess of Rockingham in grateful respect to the preserver of our religious laws and libertys 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."

Location

Hoober Stand is situated on a high ridge some 157 metres above sea level in a rural area of Rotherham, England, and is less than a mile from the village of Wentworth.

Access to Hoober Stand can be obtained easily by vehicle along Lea Brook Lane to the north of the stand. There is a car park off this road just outside the area to the stand.

Structure

The building has three walls, and its height is roughly 30m. The outside of the building has hardly any ornamentation, although the inside is more decorative. At the base of the stand, the three walls are perpendicular to the ground for 4.5m, and are at 60 degrees to each other, making the base equilateral triangular shaped. Above 4.5m and to the top, the three walls taper inwards. It is believed that the three walls represented England, Scotland and Ireland all under one crown.

One of the walls faces south. At the bottom of this wall is the entrance to the building, with a solid wooden door and an inscription above the archway (details below). The brickwork on this wall has been extensively repaired in recent years, as shown in the photograph. There are two of the five stairway windows on the south wall. The lower window is the second one that is met ascending the internal stairway. The upper window is the highest one on the staircase; it is the last one to be met when ascending the stairway.

Moving clockwise around the building, the next wall faces the north west. Here, the vast majority of the brickwork has been left alone and almost all the stones are the original ones. This side of the building is usually in shadow because the nearby woodland obscures the sun from shining on this wall in the evening. There is just one stairway window on the north west wall. This window is met exactly halfway up the internal staircase. The stand's lightning conductor runs down this wall.

The third wall faces the north east. There are two stairway windows on this wall. The upper window is the penultimate one that is met ascending the internal staircase. The lower window is the lowest stairway window so it is the first one that is met when ascending the stairway.

Central at the top of the stand is a hexagonal cupola. One of the six walls faces the south, and is parallel to the south wall. On this wall is the door at the very top of the internal stairway, which leads out to the viewing platform at the top of the stand. Two of the other walls of the cupola face the north west and the north east, and both have windows. These windows are useful in that they light the top of the stairway during the day, so the stand keeper isn't plunged into darkness when he shuts the top door at the end of the day. The remaining three walls, each one situated between two and opposite the other three walls, face the north, the south east and the south west. They have no windows. The roof of the cupola is dome shaped.

Exiting the inside of the stand at the top, via the door on the south wall of the cupola, leads to the viewing platform. The platform at the top of the stand surrounds the cupola and is equilateral triangular shaped. Each of the three sides of the platform is parallel with one of the six walls of the cupola. The southern side of the platform is met when exiting the top of the stand. The other two sides of the platform face the north west and north east, and run alongside the two walls of the cupola with the windows. The platform itself is surrounded by steel railings. There are three sharp corners on the platform where two sides meet each other. At each corner is a decorative stone pedestal, which have a hexagonal top. The pedestals conveniently provide visitors with something to lean on when viewing with binoculars. The three corners face the north, the south east and the south west. Each are adjacent to the three walls of the cupola without windows.

The fact that the three walls of the stand taper inwards, provides the optical illusion that the stand is falling over. Indeed, the cupola is situated over the centre of the building, however, it appears to moves from side to side as the tower is approached from a different angle.

External links

* [http://www.wentworthvillage.net/hoober.shtml Wentworth Village — Hoober Stand]
* [http://www.dacha.freeuk.com/wfolly/2hs0-0.htm The Wentworth Follies: Hoober Stand — The Southern Door]