Hardy Monument
Encyclopedia
The Hardy Monument is a 72 feet (21.9 m) high monument
erected by public subscription in 1844 in memory of Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, a commander at the Battle of Trafalgar
(not to be confused with the author Thomas Hardy
, who also has local connections).
The monument is situated on a high chalk
hill overlooking the English Channel
in the Blackdown area near Portesham
in Dorset
, England
. It was restored in 1900 by his descendants and given to the National Trust
in 1938.
Tourists are able to climb the monument using the steps inside, although under 16s are not permitted.
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...
erected by public subscription in 1844 in memory of Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, a commander at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
(not to be confused with the author Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, who also has local connections).
The monument is situated on a high chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
hill overlooking the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in the Blackdown area near Portesham
Portesham
Portesham is a village in the English county of Dorset, situated close to the south coast, between the towns of Weymouth and Dorchester. The village has a population of 708...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was restored in 1900 by his descendants and given to the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
in 1938.
Tourists are able to climb the monument using the steps inside, although under 16s are not permitted.