Farsley in the 1980s: The fight to save flickering relics of the Victorian age

It was a fight to save four flickering relics of the Victorian age in a village.

More than 50 Farsley residents signed a petition in the 1980s to preserve apiece of the village’s heritage and history - four old gas lamps.

The campaign was launched by village residents Stephen and Kathryn Lees who lived on Bryan Street.

They thought the gas lamps were worthy of preservation owing to their historic value and because locals liked them.

They told your Yorkshire Evening Post that hooligans had not attacked the lamps and maintenance need not be expensive as residents would volunteer to wind them up every ten days.

But members of West Yorkshire County Council’s traffic and highways committee heard in March 1984 that a £3,000 scheme to replace 12 gas lamps in Farsley and Calverley was underway.

There were 83 gas lamps still operating at the time around Leeds, mainly in the city centre and Pudsey.

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They were gradually being disconnected because they were less reliable than electric lamps and needed attention every two weeks. Maintenance costs were £75 a year - compared to £15 for electricity.

Councillors heard that the lamps were in great demand and were regularly stolen the from the streets. This had happened on Queens Square in Leeds city centre.