There was a certain arrogance to some of the rich squires of old.
John Wedgwood’s will specifically wanted a huge monument to be erected to himself after his death: "I desire my body to be interred within my estate at Bignall End in a vaulted tombe at the summit of a certain field called Old Hill…..and my executors to cause an obelisk or monument to be erected."
Sure enough, his executors built this monument, in 1845.
What's more, the present sight is only a quarter of its original size - after a lot of it fell down a few years ago.
I wonder if any of us would, nowadays, want to seen as so openly self-important.
I have seen a tomb in a cemetery here that seemed to scream "pay attention to me".
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