Stoodley Pike in the snow

A painting I have just finished of Stoodley Pike  which is near Todmorden in winter snow. I used to love the walk from Todmorden to Hebden Bridge up over the moors and have often had lunch sat at the bottom of Stoodley Pike
Stoodley Pike is a 1,300-foot hill in the south Pennines, noted for the 121 feet Stoodley Pike Monument at its summit, which dominates the moors above Todmorden in West Yorkshire,
The current structure was designed by local architect James Green in 1854 and the building was completed in 1856 when peace was declared at the end of the Crimean War.

An earlier monument had existed on the site, started in 1814 to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon and the surrender of Paris then completed in 1815 after the Battle of Waterloo (Napoleonic Wars). This structure collapsed in 1854 following an earlier lightning strike and ongoing wear and tear from the elements. The replacement was therefore (rather wisely) built slightly further from the edge of the hill. During repair work in 1889 a lightning conductor was added. The Pike has since been struck by lightning on numerous occasions without any notable structural damage. There is evidence to suggest that some sort of structure existed on the site before even this earlier pike was built.