Sir Rowland took a tumble from his lofty position
Poor Sir Rowland Hill. From his lofty position, he could, it is reputed, see 15 counties.
But then he had a great fall. One account has it that he was struck by lightning, another that he was blown down.
Whatever, Sir Rowland, the first Protestant Lord Mayor of London in 1549, took a tumble from the top of his monument at Hawkstone.
The statue which stands today on top of the obelisk is a replacement, entirely different from the original.
Our best information is that the original was blown down and destroyed in 1936, and that comes from a caption in a family album owned by Sir Beville (Billy) Stanier.
The Stanier family lived at the time at The Citadel only a few hundred yards away.
The monument itself was erected by Sir Richard Hill in 1795, standing 100ft tall and supporting the statue.
Hawkstone Park fell into disrepair before it was bought and rejuvenated by the Barclay Brothers in the early 1990s. The fall of the statue had broken parts of the turret and platform.
The shaft of the column itself was also eroded, the door and iron railing of the platform had disappeared and plants were sprouting from the base. The new owners set about lovingly repairing the column, stitching the stonework back together and replacing missing items including doors and an inscription plate.
Sculptor Guy Portelli was commissioned to create a new statue of Sir Rowland Hill, which was cast in 1992 and now graces the top of the monument.
The Tuscan-style column, which is Grade One listed, has a square base with a door in one side and recessed panels in the others.
