Description

1824. Imposing column of industrial stalk appearance topping Byres Hill. Circular section, internal spiral stairway leading to parapet and viewpoint, cantilevered with machicolated corbel.

Squared and coursed red igneous whinstone. Base course, band course on column and below corbel. Round-arched doorway with iron grill and raised surround. Tall unglazed slit openings in column.

Statement of Interest

Original marble plaque on column reads "This monument was erected to the memory of the great and good John, Fourth Earl of Hopetoun, by the affectionate and grateful tenantry in East Lothian MDCCCXXIV". The Earl in question had a mainly military career, attaining the rank of Lieutenant-General and gaining some fame at the Battle of Corunna. This monolith dominates the East Lothian skyline and, from the top, the intrepid may view most of Lothian and the Firth of Forth.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Hopetoun Monument at Wikipedia
• Wikidata IDs Q17806065 Q5899975

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)