tarboat's photos with the keyword: gasworks

Ghost sign on the former gas showroom in Whaley Bridge. The gasworks was situated a short distance behind this building at Horwich End.

The town gasworks at Hayle was built in 1888 and the last relic is the former showrooms which still proudly advertises its former ownership in a mosaic over the door.

Carrickfergus gasworks has been preserved as a museum by a local Trust and comprises the largest surviving gasworks in Britain and Ireland. I was privileged to be given a personal tour of the premises when I visited. This is one of the three retort benches on the site. Sadly the Trust has found itself unable to meet the cost of running the museum and it is now closed and handed back to the landowners Historic Environment Division. Hopefully it will reopen in 2023.

Derelict clay retorts at the site of Poynton gasworks. This gasworks was developed in the 1870s when a much smaller works was abandoned. It closed in 1935 at the same time as the colliery which owned it. Gas was then piped into the village from the gasworks at Stockport.

Gasholder at Cliff Vale on the site of the Etruria gasworks. Now demolished.

Redundant gasholders awaiting scrapping at Chelmsford.

The town gasworks at Hayle was built in 1888 and the last relic is the former showrooms which still proudly advertises its former ownership in a mosaic over the door.

The surviving gasholder at Carrickfergus gasworks was erected in 1949 and is the sole survivor of the three that were once on the site. In front is the base of one of the two earlier gasholders at The brick lined tank only needs water around the sides of the metal holder and therefore some of the space inside is filled with a brick cone often referred to as a "dumpling". All is now preserved as part of the gasworks museum.

The retort benches at the Poynton gasworks have partially survived even though the works closed along with the local collieries in August 1935. The clay retorts are over six feet long and around 13 inches high. This is looking inside one of the retorts that last produced gas all those years ago. Housing development now threatens the site.

This is the base of one of the two early gasholders at Carrickfergus gasworks. The brick lined tank only needs water around the sides of the metal holder and therefore some of the space inside is filled with a brick cone often referred to as a dumpling.

Valves on the top of the gasholder at Carrickfergus.

The new gasworks at Whaley Bridge was erected in 1927 to replace an earlier works a short distance away that was too small to meet demand. Today a few buildings remain in industrial use, but the two gasholders have been removed. The stepped brickwork in the panels of the gable were repeated in other buildings on the site. Photos of the construction can be seen on three pages here: www.subn.org/whaleybridgehistory/hoerwichgas.html

This gasholder was erected at Carrickfergus gasworks in 1949 and is the sole survivor of the three that were once on the site. It is now preserved as part of the gasworks museum.

The gasworks site in Chelmsford is to be redeveloped for housing and car parking. These gasholders are redundant and will be scrapped.

I don't often do selfies but this can be an exception. That's my shadow from the top of the surviving gasholder at Carrickfergus gasworks. Below you can see the remains of the two earlier holders that this replaced in 1949. The brick lined tank of one is on the left whilst only the circular outine of the base is visible for the other.

Carrickfergus gasworks has been preserved as a museum by a local Trust and comprises the largest surviving gasworks in Britain and Ireland. I was privileged to be given a personal tour of the premises when I visited. This is one of the three retort benches on the site.

Advert from Modern Gasworks Practice 1921. Lewis Cockey came to Frome about 1685 from Warminster and established a bell foundry. The family business diversified in the 18th century and in the early 19th century began casting for the Gas Industry. Edward Cockey (1781-1860) became a successful iron-founder and in 1816 founded the firm which by 1851 was employing 76 men and boys in the Palmer Street foundry as Edward Cockey & Sons Ltd. In 1886 this became a limited company and in 1893 the works moved to the Garston area of the town. The Frome Gas Company was founded by Cockey and the town had had gas street liqhting as early as 1831. They made ‘art nouveau’ gas light standards with a leaf pattern were made by Cockey. The firm was wound up voluntarily in April 1960 leaving a legacy of bollards, drain covers and lamp standards, many displaying the name.

The New Conveyor Company specialised in conveyors and elevators but also operated as general mechanical engineers. In 1914 the company was listed as proprietors of the Midland Engineering Company. It was acquired by Tube Investments, Ltd in 1951. In 1961 the firm employed 800 people and in 1968 it supplied the coal handling plant for Cottam Power Station. This 1907 advert was published in the Journal of Gas Lighting.