SOLI DEO GLORIA - GLORY TO GOD ALONE!
written by the Team Rector, Revd. Gary Cregeen
A few weeks ago Julie and I took
Laddie, our Springer Spaniel, for a
walk up to the Hoad Monument; it
was a gloriously clear, sunny day.
The Hoad Monument, as it is
popularly known, ought more
properly to be called the Sir John
Barrow Monument. This highly
visible memorial - which looks like
a huge lighthouse - stands on the
summit of Hoad Hill, overlooking
Ulverston, and is easily seen for
miles around.
The monument was erected in
1850 in memory of Sir John Barrow,
a native of Ulverston. From humble
beginnings Barrow rose through
the ranks of the navy to become
Second Secretary of the Admiralty
and is best known as an advocate
of voyages of exploration and
scientific discovery. He was one of
the founders of the Royal
Geographic Society in 1830, and
was also a prolific writer in both
history and biography. Following
his death in 1848, Ulverston
wanted a monument in his
memory, and the result is the
striking structure at the top of
Hoad Hill.
The likeness to a lighthouse is
intentional; the monument was
built to look like the Eddystone
Lighthouse. On the day of our visit
the monument was open to visitors
and so we climbed up the 112
steps which lead to the lantern
chamber, giving wonderful views
over the Furness Peninsula,
Morecambe Bay and the Lakeland
Fells, including a distant
Blencathra! Needless to say, the
views were awesome and the
inscription which dominates the
ceiling of the monument’s lantern
chamber is truly apt – Soli Deo
Gloria!
Soli Deo Gloria is a Latin term for
‘Glory to God alone’! This term has
been used by artists such as
Johann Sebastian Bach and George
Frideric Handel to give God credit
for their work; both Bach and
Handel attributed their ability and
their success to God. Such credit is
rare in these days; nevertheless,
our very existence is dependent on
God, whose amazing compassion
and generosity is undeserved yet
graciously given. Soli Deo Gloria
means essentially that everything