Hoober Stand

Thomas Watson-Wentworth (the Earl of Malton and Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire) fought for the British Government against the 1745 Jacobite rising. When the rebellion was crushed, George II elevated the earl to the 1st Marquess of Rockingham (the title Earl of Malton passed to his only surviving son). Watson-Wentworth commissioned architect Henry Flitcroft to design a commemorative monument. Construction lasted from 1746 to 1748, and the structure cost £3,000. The inscription above the doorway reads:<blockquote>"1748<br/>This Pyramidal Building was Erected<br/>by his Majestys most Dutyfull Subject<br/>THOMAS Marquess of Rockingham Etc.<br/>In Grateful Respect to the…

The tower, an equilateral triangle with rounded corners in section and about 30 metres tall, is built in ashlar sandstone. Its three walls are perpendicular to the ground for 4.5 m then taper to a hexagonal cupola surrounded by a triangular viewing platform reached by an internal helical stairway of 150 steps. It is believed that the three walls under the cupola represented England (including Wales), Scotland and Ireland all under one crown. The exterior is very plain but the interior is more decorative. The stairway is lit by five stairway windows and two cupola windows. The wall with the entrance door faces south. This wall has the second and fifth stairway windows (when ascending). On…