Stoodley Pike
Coordinates: 53°42′51″N 2°02′33″W / 53.71418°N 2.04242°W
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Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot (400 m) hill in the south Pennines, noted for the 121 foot Stoodley Pike Monument at its summit, which dominates the moors above Todmorden in West Yorkshire. The monument was designed in 1854 by local architect James Green, and completed in 1856 at the end of the Crimean War.
The monument replaced an earlier structure, started in 1814 and commemorating the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris. It was completed in 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo (Napoleonic Wars), but collapsed in 1854 after an earlier lightning strike, and decades of weathering. Its replacement was therefore built slightly further from the edge of the hill. During repair work in 1889 a lightning conductor was added, and although the tower has since been struck by lightning on numerous occasions, no notable structural damage is evident. There is evidence to suggest that some sort of structure existed on the site before even this earlier structure was built.
The inscription above the entrance is worn and covered with lichen but it is legible and reads:
STOODLEY PIKE
A BEACON MONUMENT
ERECTED BY PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
COMMENCED IN 1814 TO COMMEMORATE
THE SURRENDER OF PARIS TO THE ALLIES
AND FINISHED AFTER THE BATTLE OF
WATERLOO WHEN PEACE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1815.
BY A STRANGE COINCIDENCE
THE PIKE FELL ON THE DAY THE RUSSIAN
AMBASSADOR LEFT LONDON BEFORE THE
DECLARATION OF WAR WITH RUSSIA IN 1854.
WAS REBUILT WHEN PEACE WAS RESTORED IN
1856
RESTORED AND LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR FIXED
1889
The site is inaccessible to vehicles, including off-road vehicles and quad bikes, (the Pike stands on Langfield Common, so is the responsibility of Calderdale Council). Langfield Common is a true moor and an SSSI.
Stoodley Pike Monument contains a spiral staircase of 39 steps, accessed from its north side. During repairs in 1889 a grill was added to the top step, allowing more light in, so that only 6 or 7 steps are in darkness. There are no windows. The entrance to the balcony, the highest point that can be reached, and some 40 feet above ground level, is on the west face.
It serves primarily as a destination for hikers, fell-runners and cyclists, being close to Mankinholes Youth Hostel and the Top Brink pub. Just below it on the roughly 200 metres contour shelf lies the Harvelin Park housing estate. From here walkers can enjoy an easy 30-minute walk to the Pike.
Many fell races visit the Pike, primarily those organised by Todmorden Harriers including the Noonstone, Hebden Bridge, Shepherd's Skyline and the Stoodley Pike Fell race.
The Pennine Way (Britain's first National Trail, opened in 1965) passes Stoodley Pike.
Stoodley Pike Monument can be easily seen on the horizon, when one stands in front of Beacon Hill, in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
In the last couple of years the entrance to the tower has been re-paved and a seat has been provided to the southwest of the monument.
