PART of Bolton's history will be safeguarded after items from the town's iconic gasometers were donated to a museum.

Three marker plaques from the gas holders in Spa Road, which are currently being dismantled, have been donated to Bolton Museum by the National Grid to be preserved for future generations.

Made of cast iron and weighing about 50 kilograms, the manufacturer’s plates served as a maker’s mark on one of the gas holders.

They will now form part of an exhibition about Bolton’s industrial heritage at the museum.

One of the three gas holders at the site has already been torn down, with work to dismantle the second now starting.

The gas holders are being taken down because improvements in the network mean that gas can now be kept in the pipe system or underground, with gas holders no longer needed to store it.

Samantha Rendell, land regeneration manager at National Grid, said: "We’re proud to donate three maker’s plaques to Bolton Museum and to play our part in preserving Bolton’s industrial heritage.

"While the gas holders are now no longer used, they once played a key role in supplying energy to homes and businesses across Bolton.

“The gas holders have stood empty for years and we’re preparing the site for a better use in the future. It will be satisfying to know that the story of the Bolton gas holders will live on at the museum.”

The site and surrounding area has a rich history in securing Bolton’s gas supply.

The Bolton Gas Light and Coke Co was first formed in 1818, and a small site works was built in Forge Street, later known as Gas Street.

The site at Gas Street later became the main gas making works in Bolton. In 1886 a major reconstruction took place at the works, and adjoining land was acquired in order to expand.

Until 1926, work was taking place to develop and improve the site at Gas Street, which supplied gas across Bolton.

Nationally gas holders used to store coal gas or 'town gas' and later natural gas.

Cllr John Byrne, Bolton Council cabinet member for youth, sport and culture, added: "The plaques donated by National Grid will enter the museum collections and serve as a legacy of the iconic gas holders.

"Generations of Boltonians have grown up under the shadow of the gas holders which have attracted the attention not only of local people, but of famous visitors like Humphrey Spender.

"Spender visited Bolton half a dozen times in the late 1930s as part of the Mass-Observation study of the town, and took many photographs of industrial scenes, including two images featuring gas holders.”