10 Tenter Posts, Marsden, West Yorkshire

These stone posts are called 'Tenter' posts. During the Industrial Revolution the tenterfield would have held rows and rows of them. They were used for stretching and drying long rolls of cloth from the textile industry. A pair of continuous, horizontal rails would have been fixed to the posts. The rolls of cloth were stretched along the rails. They were held in place, along the two selvedges, by rows of tenterhooks attached to the rails. This is where we get the phrase ‘on tenterhooks’ from as the cloth was stretched tightly.

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