Shared description
Failsworth Pole
Failsworth Pole is regarded as the centre of Failsworth.
It is said that the site has had a Pole before 1793, and popular belief suggests this was a Maypole.
1st January 1793 saw the erection of the first Failsworth Pole. It was made from a carved oak tree which was painted and inscribed in gold with the words "This our Loyal Standard of Failsworth was erected on the 1st January 1793 to the King, Church, and present glorious Constitution".
This, the first Pole was blown down in 1849.
The second Pole was a ship's mast which measured 78ft tall. It was taken down in 1889 due to it being found to be unsafe.
The third Pole was erected on 24th August 1889. It was paid for by public subscription and a major donor at the time was Lewis's store in Manchester. It measured 98ft and weighed 4 tonnes. The pole also had a copper weather cock.
It lasted until 1924 when the final wooden pole was imported from Louisiana, USA. This Pole was 82ft tall but was blown down in a gale on Easter Monday 1950.
It was not until 15th May 1958 that the final Failsworth Pole was built, this time from concrete and brick. At the time Failsworth District Council held a competition to design a Pole - although the winning design by John Sutcliffe was not used. The height of this structure is 54ft, which although shadowed by previous Poles, should withstand a storm!
In 2006 the Pole received a £400,000 makeover which saw the clock tower refurbished and a new garden created at its base. This was tied into the presentation of the Ben Brierley Statue to the people of Failsworth in June 2006.
A fuller history can be found on an archived page of the Failsworth Info site: Archive Link
It is said that the site has had a Pole before 1793, and popular belief suggests this was a Maypole.
1st January 1793 saw the erection of the first Failsworth Pole. It was made from a carved oak tree which was painted and inscribed in gold with the words "This our Loyal Standard of Failsworth was erected on the 1st January 1793 to the King, Church, and present glorious Constitution".
This, the first Pole was blown down in 1849.
The second Pole was a ship's mast which measured 78ft tall. It was taken down in 1889 due to it being found to be unsafe.
The third Pole was erected on 24th August 1889. It was paid for by public subscription and a major donor at the time was Lewis's store in Manchester. It measured 98ft and weighed 4 tonnes. The pole also had a copper weather cock.
It lasted until 1924 when the final wooden pole was imported from Louisiana, USA. This Pole was 82ft tall but was blown down in a gale on Easter Monday 1950.
It was not until 15th May 1958 that the final Failsworth Pole was built, this time from concrete and brick. At the time Failsworth District Council held a competition to design a Pole - although the winning design by John Sutcliffe was not used. The height of this structure is 54ft, which although shadowed by previous Poles, should withstand a storm!
In 2006 the Pole received a £400,000 makeover which saw the clock tower refurbished and a new garden created at its base. This was tied into the presentation of the Ben Brierley Statue to the people of Failsworth in June 2006.
A fuller history can be found on an archived page of the Failsworth Info site: Archive Link
Created: Wed, 25 Jan 2017, Updated: Wed, 25 Jan 2017
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