Lord Hill's Column is a monument located outside of

Shropshire Council Shropshire Council is the local authority of Shropshire, in England, comprising the ceremonial county of Shropshire except Telford and Wrekin. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combi ...

's headquarters, Shirehall, in the town of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

. It is a column of the

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of c ...

and measures in height making it the tallest Doric column in England. It commemorates General

Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill General Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill, (11 August 1772 – 10 December 1842) was a British Army officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars as a brigade, division and corps commander. He became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in 182 ...

, with a tall statue standing on the top of the column. The column is shorter than the 44.5m 'Monument to British Liberty' at

Gibside Gibside is an estate in the Derwent Valley in North East England. It is between Rowlands Gill, in Tyne and Wear, and Burnopfield, in County Durham, and a few miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Gibside was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon family. ...

, but the combined height of the column and statue is higher in total. The column was built between 1814 and 1816; its diameter is wider than

Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whic ...

, and, not including the pedestal, is higher.

History

The architect was

Edward Haycock Snr Edward Haycock Sr. (29 July 1790 – 20 December 1870) was an English architect working in the West Midlands and in central and southern Wales in the late Georgian and early Victorian periods. Biography Haycock was the grandson of William Hay ...

, with modifications mainly to the

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

by Thomas Harrison. The pedestal is square with a pier of buttress at each angle, on which are placed

recumbent Recumbent may refer to: * Recumbence, the act or state of lying down or leaning * Recumbent bicycle, a bicycle, tricycle or quadricycle which places the rider in a reclined or supine position * Recumbent effigy, a tomb sculpture of the deceased ...

lions, worked of

Grinshill Grinshill is a small village, and civil parish in Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. The parish is one of the smallest in the district. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 274. Grinshill Hill rises above the village to ...

stone (the same as the column) by John Carline of Shrewsbury. The statue of Lord Hill was modelled in ''Lithodipyra'' ( Coade stone) by Joseph Panzetta who worked for

Eleanor Coade Eleanor Coade (3 June 1733 – 18 November 1821) was a British businesswoman known for manufacturing Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations and garden ornaments made of ''Lithodipyra'' or Coade stone for ov ...

. The first stone was laid on 27December 1814 by the Salopian Lodge of

Free Masons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

assisted by deputies from adjoining lodges, on the festival of

St. John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given t ...

. The last stone was laid on 18 June 1816, the first anniversary of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armies of the Sevent ...

. The total expense was 5,972 pounds, 13 shillings and 2 pence (appx. £202,831.48 at 2005 prices). In 1817, a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

ed spiral staircase of 172 steps was constructed inside of the column. Each of the 172 balusters carries on its stem a circular medallion on which are cast a letter or letters in upper and lower case spelling out the message: '''This staircase was the gift of John Straphen, the builder, as his donation towards erecting this Column. The first stone of the foundation was laid December 27, 1814, and completed June 18th, 1816, the anniversary of the glorious battle of Waterloo. Following his death in 1842, Lord Hill bequeathed five

guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

s per annum to the person in charge of the column, ten guineas per annum for lighting it and a further ten guineas per annum to "the person who has charge of such light". The structure once stood at the centre of the crossroads there, but the junction is now set aside from the column. Originally, the base of the column was surrounded by an iron railing, however this was later removed. The column also gives its name to a ward of the Shrewsbury Town Council, known simply as "Column" ward and to the Bayston Hill, Column and Sutton ward of

. It is possible to climb within the column using steps to reach the top.

Recent history

The column has been listed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

as a Grade II* structure. In early 2013, the column's state deteriorated following harsh winter weather and heavy winds. Falling debris from the statue resulted in it being cordoned off to the public. In May 2013,

sought the best solution to the falling debris from the statue caused by heavy winds. As a landmark of historical significance for Shrewsbury, its preservation and restoration was said by some, such as

, to be of paramount importance. Work to restore the column totalled £350,000. Following restoration work, the column was opened to the public during the summer and autumn of 2015 as part of the bicentenary of the

. The Column was also open in 2016 thanks to the work of the Friends of Lord Hill's Column. In March 2019, the statue of Lord Hill was again found to have suffered damage as a result of strong winds and freezing weather. An inspection revealed that the damage was not as bad as was witnessed in 2013. Repair work was planned to commence between May and June at a cost of £10,000, however this was pushed back to autumn 2019 and was again delayed until a future date. The work was set to commence in May 2020. Talks began in June 2019 between

and Friends of Lord Hill Column regarding the construction of a £500,000 replacement statue. In March 2021, Shropshire Council announced they were seeking a specialist consultant to lead a fundraising drive in order to raise the £500,000 needed to construct a replica statue. Should such a statue be created, it is expected to be erected by 2022 in order to mark the 250th anniversary of Lord Hill's birth. On 3 May 2022, protest group

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

unfurled a 20m long banner from the top of the column bearing the words 'Climate Crisis Act Now'.

References

External links

Friends of Lord Hill's Column website
{{Shrewsbury architecture Buildings and structures completed in 1816 Buildings and structures in Shrewsbury Columns related to the Napoleonic Wars Monumental columns in England Thomas Harrison buildings Monuments and memorials in Shropshire Grade II* listed buildings in Shropshire Neoclassical architecture in Shropshire Observation towers in the United Kingdom 1816 establishments in England

History

Recent history

See also

References

External links