High on Stanton Moor, a stone’s throw from the Nine Ladies Stone Circle, and so high that you can actually walk underneath it during the fully bloomed season of summer without seeing it, lies Stanton Tower; also known as the Reform Tower, or Earl Grey Tower.
With all the barrows and standing stones of Stanton Moor you would expect this tower, in all of its atmospheric glory, to have a “witchier” background than being dedicated to UK politics, but it has an interesting and important history nonetheless.
It was built in 1832 by William Pole Thornhill to commemorate Earl Grey, a politician who successfully campaigned in the early 19th century to reform parliament. Thornhill was a Whig ~ a political faction that opposed absolute monarchy ~ who believe that parliament should be reformed to get rid of rotten boroughs, and to allow more men to vote. (Unfortunately at this stage women were excluded from the electorate. 1832 saw the first petition on women's suffrage presented to Parliament.)
Thornhill had the tower built where it was visible from the Duke of Rutland’s estate (whose other seat was Belvoir - see my Witches of Belvoir post); the Duke of Rutland being Earl Grey’s Tory rival.
It was dedicated to The Representation of the People Act, also known as the Great Reform Act, which was finally passed into law on the third attempt. There are also a number of large stones on the moor carved with dates and insignia that the Thornhill family had carved to commemorate several people, for reasons unknown.
If you haven't been already, Stanton Moor is well worth a visit.
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