Hartshead Pike Hartshead Hill Lily Lane

Foundation stone laid 17 September 1863  Date of design 1863 67. Restored to mark marriage of Prince Albert Edward and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Restored again 1928.  Tower, hammer dressed stone. Circular tower with steep conical roof. Door in west side has shouldered head and inscribed stones above with inscriptions. Cusped lancet window openings, corbelled eaves, dormer roof lights with cusped openings and stepped gables.

A tower or beacon is supposed to have stood on Hartshead hill for over 1000 years. The first reference to a tower was at the meeting of the Ashton Court Leet in October 1750 which sought to impose fines for those who threw things at the structure. A new tower was built by public subscription in 1751, and inscribed with the admonitory verse, "Look well at me before you go, And see you nothing at me throw!" This structure was restored again in 1758, but began to deteriorate in 1794 possibly following a lightning strike which split the stonework. The tower remained in ruins until 1863. In February of that year the inhabitants of Ashton resolved to restore the Pike as a tribute to marriage of the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. On 17 September 1863 the new foundation stone was laid on land donated by the Earl of Stamford and Warrington who had, "acted very generously towards the committee who were appointed to carry out the rebuilding of Hartshead Pike." The mayor, Samuel Duncuft Lees, who performed the foundation laying with a specially made silver trowel, and with full Masonic honours, hoped that the tower would "endure for ages as a mark of their loyalty, as an ornament to the manor, and as a meet place for the recreation of the people." A bottle was buried in the foundations containing copies of the Ashton newspapers, coins, a note outlining the purpose of the restoration and "some verses by a native of Hartshead whose name he was not at liberty to mention, but who was known to most of them." The poem, by James Dawson, declared that the chief purpose of the re erection of the pike was to connect Ashton with its own history: "To mark a spot which links us to the past, We raise this tower from sad decay, and wipe our taunted apathy away." However, apathy, or lack of funds meant that the tower was not immediately built, and it is unclear when it was finished. By 1928 the Victorian tower had fallen into disrepair, and a movement for restoration began once again. A meeting was held at the town hall on 12 April 1928 which proposed substantial repairs and invited subscriptions. Reginald Earnshaw told the meeting that the tower had been damaged by a combination of severe gales the previous December and the attentions of "rough lads" who thought it fair game "to make it a target for every kind of missile."(4) The restoration was done under the supervision of Manchester architect J. Lindsay Grant, and by October the work was complete. The Pike was reopened on 17 November 1928. The tower was used as an observation post during World War Two and the door was bricked up at the end of the war. The hill is said to be haunted by a knight, John of Jerusalem, who, in the form of a crescent light endlessly circles the tower.

Reference           Public Monument and Sculpture Association National Recording Project