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17
Oct
Harrogate lamppost brought back to life – 170 years after it was first lit
A streetlamp that first shed light on Bilton 170 years ago is shining once again, thanks to a very 21st-century refurbishment.
The cast-iron lamppost was first installed on the drive from Bilton Lane to St John's Church in Harrogate in 1857 and ran on town gas manufactured at the New Park gasworks, just down the road.
By 1965, the local gas had been replaced by North Sea gas, and then Harrogate’s many gas lamps were converted to electricity, including the single 'Harrogate-style' lamp at the church.
In its autumn newsletter, Bilton Conservation Group (BCG), which has organised its rehabilitation, wrote:
The lamp served the community well and must have witnessed many significant moments, including the final journeys of local casualties from the Boer Wars (1880–1902), the First World War (1914–1918), the Second World War (1939–1945), and the Korean War (1950–1953), as well as processions for weddings, baptisms, and national celebrations.
Its fortunes changed a few decades ago, when the lantern was damaged and the light was extinguished.
The group has now cleaned the lamppost and fitted it with a lightweight reproduction 'Harrogate-style' lantern, powered by solar energy.
It was installed on Thursday by BCG chair Keith Wilkinson and unveiled this afternoon (Friday, October 16).
Mr Wilkinson said:
Although it is not intended to provide a high level of illumination, it should offer a warm glow from dusk until dawn, hopefully for up to a year with minimal maintenance.
We are grateful to the anonymous benefactor who funded the new lantern, to Nigel Thompson for facilitating the project, to David Brown and David Morray for their support, and not least to Mick Bayley for providing his mobile scaffold tower and his skill in cleaning away the rust. Without this help, this 2023 concept could not have been achieved.
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