Gallon Steps With 2 Lamp Posts And Walls, Linking Waterside And Kirkgate

The Gallon Steps, with two lamp posts and walls, are located in Knaresborough, linking Waterside and Kirkgate. These features date from the early 19th century and are constructed from brick, gritstone, cobbles, and cast iron.

The steps consist of seven flights, each approximately two meters wide, made of gritstone slabs resting on a stone and brick core. There are some 20th-century restorations, and cobble platforms are situated between the flights. The flanking walls are built of coursed gritstone with pointed coping, standing about one meter high on the outside. The inner wall is made of a mix of rubble and coursed gritstone.

The lamp posts are fluted columns with lanterns that were restored around 1980. The steps are believed to be named after Richard Gallon, who managed the Nidd pavilion in 1822. They were also known as Factory Steps, as an 1851 Ordnance Survey map indicates a linen factory built against the cliff face along their route. The lamp posts were likely first installed when the town began using gas lighting in 1824.