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Difference between revisions of "Beckton Gas Works"

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{{Factory
 
{{Factory
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|has description="The plant was opened in 1870 by the [[Gas Light & Coke Company]]. The name Beckton was given to the plant and the surrounding area of east London in honour of the company's governor Simon Adams Beck. It came eventually to manufacture gas for most of London north of the Thames, with numerous smaller works being closed. Its counterpart south of the river was the [[South Metropolitan Gas Company]]'s [[East Greenwich Gas Works]] on the Greenwich Peninsula.
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After the Second World War a major reconstruction project was undertaken by the civil engineer T. P. O'Sullivan of Brian Colquhoun and Partners. Following nationalisation in 1949 the plant was owned by the North Thames Gas Board. After closure the residual site passed to British Gas and Transco.
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The discovery of natural gas in the North Sea meant that manufactured gas became uncompetitive. The Beckton works closed between 1969 and 1970, when the last trainload left the associated chemical works.
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The works lay within the London Docklands area and parts were redeveloped by the London Docklands Development Corporation." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckton_Gas_Works
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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.
 
|started_operation=1870
 
|started_operation=1870
|ended_operation=1869
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|ended_operation=1969
 
|has_coordinates=51.51561, 0.078019
 
|has_coordinates=51.51561, 0.078019
 
|is_in=East Ham
 
|is_in=East Ham
|produced=Coal Gas, Coke, Coal Tars, Ammonia, Sulphur, road tar phenol, cresols, xylenols, naphthalene, pyridine bases, creosote, benzene, toluene, xylene, solvent naphtha, ammonium sulphate solution, ammonia solution, sulphuric acid, picolines, quinoline, quinaldine, acenaphthene, anthracene, dicyclopentadiene <ref>''LibreOffice For Starters'', First Edition, Flexible Minds, Manchester, 2002, p. 18</ref>
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|produced=Coal Gas, Coke, Coal Tars, Ammonia, Sulphur
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|raw_material=Coal
|raw_material=coal
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{{Ownership Header}}
 
{{Ownership record
 
{{Ownership record
 
|from_date=1870
 
|from_date=1870
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|to_date=1949
 
|was_owned_by=Gas Light & Coke Company
 
|was_owned_by=Gas Light & Coke Company
 
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{{Ownership record
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|from_date=1949
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|to_date=1969
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|was_owned_by=North Thames Gas Board
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{{Industry Header}}
 
{{Industry record
 
{{Industry record
 
|from_date=1870
 
|from_date=1870
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|was_part_of_industry=Coal Gas Industry
 
|was_part_of_industry=Coal Gas Industry
 
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==Description==
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Source for product: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckton_Gas_Works "Following the invention of coal gas early in the 19th century, it was discovered than numerous organic and inorganic chemicals could be obtained when purifying the gas. Processes began to be developed to recover these, and a major branch of the British chemical industry – the coal tar and ammonia by-products industry – came into existence.[6] By 1876 a nearby company, Burt, Boulton and Haywood of Silvertown, was distilling each year 12 million imperial gallons (55,000 m3) of coal tar to manufacture ingredients for disinfectants, insecticides and dyes. Sulphur from the gas works was the raw material for local manufacturers of sulphuric acid needed by other nearby companies producing products such as fertilizers.[7] Subsequently the GLCC decided that it would carry out the processing of by-products itself, rather than sell them to independent chemical companies. A purpose-built chemical works, Beckton Products Works, was constructed in 1879. It was the largest tar and ammonia by-products works in the UK, possibly in the world. Besides millions of gallons of road tar, products included phenol, the cresols and xylenols, naphthalene, pyridine bases, creosote, benzene, toluene, xylene, solvent naphtha, ammonium sulphate and ammonia solution, sulphuric acid, picolines, quinoline, quinaldine, acenaphthene, anthracene and dicyclopentadiene" <ref>''LibreOffice For Starters'', First Edition, Flexible Minds, Manchester, 2002, p. 18</ref>
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Latest revision as of 13:46, 12 May 2016


"The plant was opened in 1870 by the Gas Light & Coke Company. The name Beckton was given to the plant and the surrounding area of east London in honour of the company's governor Simon Adams Beck. It came eventually to manufacture gas for most of London north of the Thames, with numerous smaller works being closed. Its counterpart south of the river was the South Metropolitan Gas Company's East Greenwich Gas Works on the Greenwich Peninsula.

After the Second World War a major reconstruction project was undertaken by the civil engineer T. P. O'Sullivan of Brian Colquhoun and Partners. Following nationalisation in 1949 the plant was owned by the North Thames Gas Board. After closure the residual site passed to British Gas and Transco.

The discovery of natural gas in the North Sea meant that manufactured gas became uncompetitive. The Beckton works closed between 1969 and 1970, when the last trainload left the associated chemical works.

The works lay within the London Docklands area and parts were redeveloped by the London Docklands Development Corporation." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beckton_Gas_Works

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.


Operation

1870 to 1969


Location

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Located in

East Ham


Produced

Coal Gas, Coke, Coal Tars, Ammonia, Sulphur


Used Raw Materials

Coal


Ownership

From To Owner
1870 1949 Gas Light & Coke Company
1949 1969 North Thames Gas Board


Industry

From To Industry
1870 1969 Coal Gas Industry