IT was rumoured that the gateposts of a Marsden house were cannons from the Crimean War.
Sadly the origins of the posts at Bankside aren’t quite as romantic – but they are equally old.
The oddly-shaped posts of the house at Reddisher Road were thought to have been used during the Crimean War.
The war between the Russian empire and an alliance of the British, French and Ottoman empires took place mainly around the Black Sea from 1853 to 1856.
Raymond Barry, 78, who lived at Bankside between 1971 and 1980, was keen to find the gateposts’ origin.
Marsden History Group believes the truth is much closer to home, just down the road in fact.
The metal posts most probably were gas condensers – called retorts – from a gasworks attached to the former Hey Green Corn Mill, which was situated a quarter of a mile away.
The mill, which was later used for thickening textile threads, was built in 1709 by Robert France, of Holmfirth.
The gasworks is thought to have provided gas lighting for the mill, which went bankrupt in 1879.
It is thought the retorts were moved to Bankside around 1905 before Hey Green Mill (also spelled ‘Hay Green’) was demolished.
Part of the gasworks still remains as Lower Hey Green cottages.
Marsden History Group chairman Nick Pollett said: “In this area they would have used anything. Getting a gatepost made and transported was very expensive.
“They didn’t have lorries in the 1900s and it would have had to be moved by cart.
“Why would you bring Crimean War cannons to this area? If that was the case they would have been treated with more respect and probably put on display.
“It’s a good story but it’s very unlikely to be true.”
