peterw Posted September 14, 2008 Share Posted September 14, 2008 Am I the only one who actually went to the top of what we called Keppels Column?I had an Aunt and Uncle who lived on Woolley Wood Rd Shiregreen and I remember walking going there and ascending,I think for a penny,old money of course,soon after my Aunt said was closed for safety reasons,when?my overcrowded memory thinks just before the war Sorry to spoil any glory, but happy to say I can join you in having been to the top of Keppel’s many times. There was a period when a charge of two old pennies was made, and there was a period when it was free. The old house nearby served a very nice cuppa with egg and lettuce (or cress) sandwiches. I believe the elderly man who lived at the house with his very cheerful wife was the Column’s caretaker. If you remember, there was a sort of small, cell-like construction half way up. Never found out why it was there, though. The view from the top was great. You could see Hoober Stand (mentioned earlier), walk to the other side and Shiregreen was clearly visible. No chance of falling off the column because there were reasonably high iron railings surrounding the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneofThree Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Why is it too expensive to repair? Does anyone know if Rotherham council have a quote? It might be incredibly expensive but surely its a part of local history that should be preserved. If the Council can't afford it then some preservation society or grant should be able to do something with it. Why is nobody making a fuss about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nodens Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 Sorry to spoil any glory, but happy to say I can join you in having been to the top of Keppel’s many times. There was a period when a charge of two old pennies was made, and there was a period when it was free. The old house nearby served a very nice cuppa with egg and lettuce (or cress) sandwiches. I believe the elderly man who lived at the house with his very cheerful wife was the Column’s caretaker. If you remember, there was a sort of small, cell-like construction half way up. Never found out why it was there, though. The view from the top was great. You could see Hoober Stand (mentioned earlier), walk to the other side and Shiregreen was clearly visible. No chance of falling off the column because there were reasonably high iron railings surrounding the top. I believe the small, "cell-like" construction half way up, was, at some point, used as a urinal, at least it smelled that way when our gang of kids last went up around 1960 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longcol Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Why is it too expensive to repair? Does anyone know if Rotherham council have a quote? It might be incredibly expensive but surely its a part of local history that should be preserved. If the Council can't afford it then some preservation society or grant should be able to do something with it. Why is nobody making a fuss about it? Perhaps it needs a "Friends of Keppel's Column" or something similar - and an appeal to the Lottery Heritage Fund? http://www.hlf.org.uk/english Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SputnikBoy Posted September 16, 2008 Author Share Posted September 16, 2008 Why is it too expensive to repair? Does anyone know if Rotherham council have a quote? It might be incredibly expensive but surely its a part of local history that should be preserved. If the Council can't afford it then some preservation society or grant should be able to do something with it. Why is nobody making a fuss about it? It's been some time since I checked this out but there ARE references on the Internet pertaining to the column and the estimated cost of repairs required to bring it up to scratch. I guess it's just a matter of typing in 'Keppel's Column' and navigating the links. The problem is, the more procrastinating that is done the more expensive the repair bill becomes. As you say, why is nobody (or relatively few) making a fuss about it? It either has to be repaired eventually and opened up to the public (whose admission fees would eventually pay for the repairs anyway) or otherwise dismantled. The latter option would surely be criminal. By the way, does anyone have any recent photographs of the column and the surrounds that they could present on this thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stani Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I've lived in scholes village all my life and my next door neighbour used to go up keppels column before it was closed to the public. I also know of someone who says they broke in and went up a couple of years ago but i'm not certain how true this is,as the door is very secure and i think there is even an iron grill over it too now.plus i've been told most of the lower steps have collapsed. It was built in honour of admiral keppel who was cleared of cowardice by court marshall and was meant to be higher but funding ran out. The wider part in the middle is an optical illusion to give the impression that it is higher than it is. As for people jumping from the top,I've never heard of any stories,although there is supposed to be a ghost of 'the grey lady' who appears at the top and jumps off. Apparently she commited suicide some time ago,not sure when or why,or even if its true. I've walked past keppels column or looked at it from my window many times,night and day, and never seen anything spooky but I have a friend who says he once saw a 'white figure' stood on the top. As for restoration I don't think there are any plans,although I did recently see a man on the top with a hard hat on etc and a cherry picker (which im guessing is how he got up) so maybe he was doing some kind of safety check? There is a steel brace around the column about a third of the way up to stop it collapsing (this is about the same height as the internal room) and there were new steel shutters placed over the windows. There is a 'friends of keppel field' website but im not sure if they are more interested in preserving the wildlife than the column. Its a great shame that its just being left to rot,the council should restore it,im sure there must be some kind of grant available to fund it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stani Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 p.s I will have a walk up and take some pictures and post them on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SputnikBoy Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 p.s I will have a walk up and take some pictures and post them on here. That would be great. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryob Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Am I the only one who actually went to the top of what we called Keppels Column?I had an Aunt and Uncle who lived on Woolley Wood Rd Shiregreen and I remember walking going there and ascending,I think for a penny,old money of course,soon after my Aunt said was closed for safety reasons,when?my overcrowded memory thinks just before the war hi highnote i was born on woolley wood road (no 121) in 1938 i too used to walk to kepples column but i never went up the tower what were your relatives names i might know them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullerboY Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 we used to go up in the 50s and they charged halfpenny.I went to buy a house at kirkstead abbey mews and the lady who was selling it says it had a ghost of a napolionic drummer boy who passed through the house each day at a certain time.this woman was a retired head mistress and she had done some research,apparently there was a tunnel from hesley hall to the mews and then to keppels column and this was known as the Killing Lane were they tortured french prisoners.I only have her story on that but no reason to doubt her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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