Thomas Watson-Wentworth fought for the British Government against the 1745 Jacobite rising. When the rebellion was crushed, George II elevated the earl to the 1st Marquess of Rockingham. Watson-Wentworth commissioned architect Henry Flitcroft to design a commemorative monument. Construction lasted from 1746 to 1748, and the structure cost £3,000. The inscription above the doorway reads:
"1748 This Pyramidal Building was Erected by his Majestys most Dutyfull Subject THOMAS Marquess of Rockingham Etc. In Grateful Respect to the Preserver of our Religion Laws and Libertys KING GEORGE The Second Who by the blessing of God having Subdued a most Unnatural Rebellion In Britain Anno 1746 Maintains the Ballance of Power and Settles A just and Honourable peace in Europe 1748"
Location
Hoober Stand is situated on a high ridge some above sea level in a rural area near Rotherham, and is less than a mile from the village of Wentworth. Vehicular access is along Lea Brook Lane, north of the stand, to a car park next to the monument.
Structure
The tower, an equilateral triangle with rounded corners in section and about 30 metres tall, is built in ashlar sandstone. Its three walls are perpendicular to the ground for then taper to a hexagonal cupola surrounded by a triangular viewing platform reached by an internal helical stairway of 150 steps. It is believed that the three walls under the cupola represented England, Scotland and Ireland all under one crown. The exterior is very plain but the interior is more decorative. The stairway is lit by five stairway windows and two cupola windows. The wall with the entrance door faces south. This wall has the second and fifth stairway windows. On the north west wall the vast majority of the stonework is original. It has the third stairway window. The stand's lightning conductor runs down this wall. The north east wall has the first and fourth stairway windows. At the top of the tower is the hexagonal cupola with a domed roof. It is surrounded by a triangular iron-railed viewing platform. Three of the cupola walls containing the door and windows are parallel to the tower walls. The door leads out onto the viewing platform. The platform is in the form of an equilateral triangle, with edges parallel to the south cupola wall and the windowed cupola walls. The platform corners are adjacent to the cupola's three windowless walls. Each corner has a decorative stone hexagonal-topped pedestal. The inward taper of the upper part of the three walls causes an optical illusion that the stand is falling over. The cupola, although situated over the centre of the building, appears to move from side to side as the tower is approached from different angles.
