Knill's Monument

John Knill (1 January 1733 – 29 March 1811) was an English attorney who served as the Collector of Customs at St Ives, Cornwall, from 1762 to 1782. Knill is primarily remembered for having his own memorial constructed, a 50-foot-high (15 m) three-sided granite obelisk known as Knill's Steeple (also known as Knill's Monument or "The Steeple"), which still stands. It was sited on the summit of Worvas Hill with views over St Ives Bay with intention that he should be interred in a vault within it; however, he was laid to rest in London. Slightly eccentric, Knill left money and specific instructions in his will for a celebration to be held in St Ives every five years, which continues and was most recently observed in 2021.