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Hornsey Gas Company

From London's Ghost Acres

Revision as of 17:31, 19 October 2015 by EliseLehmann (Talk | contribs)



Operation

1857 to 1939


Located in

London

Description

“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 gas. Coal was largely mined in Britain but also shipped in from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. The coal was shipped in on a barge up the canal and then burned to create the gas, which was then purified and put into the gas holders until needed for consumer use. The process also created coke, tar, ammonia, and sulphur as by-products.

51.59172, -0.11288

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