Summary
Lamp post and finger post, 1844. Fingers removed during the Second World War; lantern replaced late C20.
Reasons for Designation
The lamp post at the junction of Mereheath Lane and Knutsford Drive, Knutsford, of 1844, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it retains its maker’s casting marks of 1844, therefore dating to a period when relatively few examples survive and there is a presumption in favour of listing;
* this is an attractive mid-C19 cast-iron lamp post with good quality aesthetic Egyptian-style decoration and a splayed foot, decorated with acanthus leaves;
* a rare example of a purpose-built, rather than adapted, combination lamp post and finger post which has stood in the same position since its erection in 1844.
History
In 1844, the Knutsford Freeholders, who were partly responsible for the provision of services for the town, were aware of the imminent opening of the town gas works, and decided that the provision of street lighting would be of benefit to the town. They purchased five cast-iron gas lamp posts from John Musgrave, Son and Heaton, of Bolton, at a cost of £150. It is believed that the lamps were positioned to light the major street junctions within the town. However, the erection of the gas lamps did not immediately lead to the provision of street lighting, as no one was willing to pay for their connection, and it took 15 years to lay a gas supply to them. Even after that, no funding was forthcoming to pay for the gas, and it was a further 30 years before the lamps were finally lit.
The lamp post also functioned as a finger post, a use that can be seen in an archive photograph taken in about 1912. Its fingers would have been removed as an anti-invasion measure during the Second World War. The lamp was converted to electricity, sometime after 1938 (when gas was still in use in Knutsford) and the ladder bar was also removed. The present electric lantern is considered to date from the late C20, and conforms in basic appearance to a standard late-C19 design, known as a 'Windsor' lamp.
Details
Lamp post and finger post, 1844. Fingers removed during the Second World War, lantern replaced late C20.
MATERIALS: cast-iron, with a cylindrical stone base.
DESCRIPTION: a slender cast-iron lamp post, which doubled as a finger post. It comprises two fluted columns, placed one atop the other, each terminating in an Egyptian capital; the upper capital is surmounted by a vase. Two circular flanges on the upper column mark the former position of the ladder bars, and there is a small rectangular flange, which functioned as a stop for the former 'fingers'. The lamp post has a splayed foot, decorated with acanthus leaves, rising off a cylindrical plinth with a moulded edge, which has the manufacturer's name and date cast in relief that reads: JOHN MUSGRAVE. SON & HEATON. BOLTON 1844. The lamp post is mounted on a cylindrical stone base that has a rebate for the gas supply pipe and there is a small access door in the plinth directly over the rebate. An electric lamp is housed in a late-C20 'Windsor' style lantern.
