Keppel's Column

The column was built in the late-18th century to commemorate the acquittal of the court-martialled Admiral Augustus Keppel after the Battle of Ushant. It was commissioned in 1773 by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham and designed by John Carr.

It visibly bulges due to an entasis correction, which was rendered inappropriate when funding problems reduced the height. The column, which has an internal spiral staircase, is located on a prominent hill on the southern extent of the Wentworth Estates. The hill is more than above mean sea level and is one of the highest hills in the Borough of Rotherham, second only to the hill on which Hoober Stand is located. Keppel's Column had been closed to the public since the 1960s due to being unsafe, as it was in a derelict state, but was reopened to the public in September 2022. The column can be viewed at close quarters from the public footpath running from Admiral's Crest in Scholes.