Calderdale's Stoodley Pike Monument is a show of peace that has survived two centuries

Stoodley Pike Monument. Photo by Ian Day.

At 121ft high, and atop a 1,300ft hill of the same name, it commands quite the presence as one of the oldest towers in the world dedicated to peace.

The Grade II-Listed structure was erected to commemorate the surrender of Paris to the Allies after the Napoleonic Wars.

How Kirkham Priory was used in preparation for D-Day landings of Second World WarWork on its construction began in 1814 and, the product of public subscription, it was completed after the Battle of Waterloo a year later, when peace was established.

Over its entrance an engraved tablet reveals more of its history.

“By a strange coincidence, the pike fell on the day the Russian Ambassador left London before the declaration of war with Russia in 1854,” it states.

It had collapsed after decades of weathering and a lightning strike. But come 1856, as peacetime began at the end of the Crimean War, a replacement monument, designed two years earlier by local architect James Green, was unveiled.

The pike, which can only be reached on foot, provides spectacular views over the Calderdale countryside and a trip up the monument’s 39-step spiral staircase offers a perspective from an even greater height.

And perhaps not surprisingly given its beauty, the landscape in which the monument sits, as well as the likes of nearby Lumbutts and Mankinholes, are explored in the song Hebden Bridge by vocalist Woolly Wolstenholme.

Back in May 2014, celebrations were held to mark monument’s bicentenary. A total of 200 homing pigeons were released from its parapet, and, at its base, a samba group, puppeteers and a brass band were assembled to join the festivities.

The support of local people in bringing the monument to life was an indication of the communal relief in reaching the end of the Napoleonic wars all those years ago.

The event five years ago demonstrates that, still today, the monument remains a towering part of community life, having now reached its 205th milestone.

Technical details: Nikon D810 camera with a 24mm lens, exposure of 1/1000th second @ f6.3, ISO 100.