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Hornsey Gas Company

From London's Ghost Acres

“The company was formed in 1857 and was incorporated by special Act in 1866. Gas manufacture at the company's works on Clarendon Road, did not commence until 1861 and the works were operated on a commission basis until the company bought them back in 1865. CWG plant was introduced in 1895. Its area of supply covered the Borough of Hornsey. The company came under the control of the South Eastern Gas Corporation in 1939. The works continued to operate until 1957 when they were closed and the site became a holder station. On nationalisation in 1949 the company vested in the NTGB” (The National Archives).

Gas works were used to produce and store flammable coal gas. Coal was mined in Britain and then shipped on a barge up rivers or on trains to the gas works. There it was burned to create the gas, which was then purified and put into the gas holders until needed for consumer use to light streets and buildings. The process also created coke, tar, ammonia, and sulphur as by-products.

51.59172, -0.11288 Hornsey Gas Works

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/ea1108be-29e8-438e-8c03-309b1e67890b


Operation

1857 to 1939


Located in

London